GAZA CITY, Palestine

A chronic lack of fuel has forced the shutdown of desalination plants in the battered Gaza Strip, leaving families struggling to find water amid Israel’s ongoing offensive on the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.

“With almost no fuel available in Gaza, critical desalination plants have shut down,” UNRWA said in a statement.

The UN agency said Palestinian families in the strip don’t find enough water.

“Survival is a struggle. Families and children walk long distances in the heat for water,” it said.

“People need water to live. Israeli authorities must provide access now.”

Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, banning food, fuel and medicine into the territory, home to nearly 2.3 million people.

Last month, the Israeli army captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, a vital route for fuel and humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,500 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar