RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — A shortage of drinking water and an increasing failure of the sewage system in Gaza is contributing to what the World Bank calls a severe public health crisis there, the Associated Press (AP) reported on January 7 in the International Herald Tribune.
The World Bank issued the statement on January 6, based on data from the local water authority in Gaza, the AP reported.
Water and sewer services have been among the victims of the breakdown of a cease-fire between the Hamas rulers of Gaza and neighboring Israel on December 27. On that date, Israel, irked by Hamas rockets fired into Israeli border towns, launched its military offensive.
According to the AP report, the World Bank called on the Israeli government to allow enough fuel into Gaza to operate some 170 water and sewage pumps there. The bank also warned of the possibility that a sewage lake in northern Gaza might overflow, as it had done in the past. The bank called on Israel to allow maintenance crews to shore up the lake, the report said.
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