The U.N. children's agency UNICEF announced that it has reached a deal with Israel to restore power to Gaza's key desalination plant, in order to provide critical water to a million people displaced and devastated by Israel's monthslong attacks on the blockaded enclave.
"UNICEF confirms an agreement (with Israel) was reached to re-establish the medium voltage feeder power line for the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant," said Jonathan Crickx, the agency's spokesman in the Palestinian territories.
Water has become scarce for the Palestinian territory's 2.4 million residents since Oct. 7.
More than two-thirds of Gaza's sanitation and water facilities have been destroyed or damaged in Israeli attacks, according to data cited by U.N. agencies, and only an intermittent supply of bottled water has been allowed in since Israel imposed a punishing siege on the territory.
The plant in Khan Younis, once resupplied with electricity, should produce enough water to "meet what humanitarian standards define as a minimum intake of 15 liters per day of drinking water per person, for nearly a million displaced people" in southern Gaza, Crickx said.
"This is an important milestone, and we are very much looking forward to seeing it implemented."
Israel's coordinator for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, known as COGAT, did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
The plant should be able to produce 15,000 cubic meters, or 15 million liters, of water per day at full capacity, according to UNICEF.
After Hamas's attack on Oct. 7, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that he was imposing "a complete siege" on Gaza with "no electricity, no water, no gas."
Since then, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated considerably, according to aid groups working in Gaza, as Israel's attacks destroyed civilian infrastructure.
Crickx said it was vital to also see "generators and infrastructure to be delivered" to address the damage to the war-battered territory, adding more than 60% of its water distribution systems have been damaged since October.
Israel's attacks in Gaza have killed at least 37,765 people, mostly civilians.
