GAZA CITY
By Nour Abu Eisha
Palestinian officials fear that an expected cold spell next winter could further aggravate the dire humanitarian situation in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the infrastructure of which was largely destroyed during Israel's recent military onslaught.
"The recent war destroyed everything in Gaza. A cold spell would portend a fresh humanitarian disaster," Saad al-Din al-Atbash, head of Gaza City's water authority, told Anadolu Agency.
"Many sewage pipes and water networks are still buried under the rubble," al-Atbash said. "The upcoming winter in the Gaza Strip will be much harder to withstand than previous ones."
Already underdeveloped as a result of a seven-year Israeli blockade and two recent military onslaughts (in 2012 and 2014), the strip's rickety infrastructure was further degraded during Israel's 51-day offensive in July and August.
"The worst that could happen in Gaza next winter is that raw sewage trapped under the rubble would mix with rainwater and flood homes in Gaza City," al-Atbash said.
Gaza City's municipal authorities, he added, lacked the resources required to repair the local sewage system due to Israel's ongoing blockade, which has prevented the import of the necessary equipment and spare parts.
Gaza City Civil Defense Chief Said al-Seoudi, for his part, said that rubble from destroyed homes in the Gaza Strip would make it more difficult to collect rainwater in sewage drains.
"The war has further debilitated Gaza's civil defense capabilities, which were already weak due to the Israeli siege," al-Seoudi said.
He added that the recent Israeli offensive had resulted in $300,000 worth of economic losses for Gaza's civil defense authorities.
In December of last year, thousands of Gazan families were displaced when a severe cold snap and torrential rainfall left entire neighborhoods flooded.
Over 2,160 Palestinians were killed – and some 11,000 injured – during Israel's recent offensive, while the strip sustained an estimated $5 billion in total economic losses, according to Palestinian government figures.
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