From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaza water desalinization plant connected to Israeli energy grid
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
A water desalination plant in Gaza is connected to Israel’s electricity grid to increase the supply of clean water in the war-torn coastal enclave.
The plant, located in the southern city of Khan Younis, is run by UNICEF and can provide 20,000 cubic meters of water daily to the nearby humanitarian zone where the vast majority of Gaza’s population is currently taking refuge from the conflict.
Israel’s security cabinet approved a decision in July to connect the desalination facility to the Israeli grid in July, but it has taken several months to complete the necessary work. The plant was finally connected on Sunday.
MK Yulia Malinovsky of the opposition Yisrael Beytenu party condemns the development, writing on X “101 hostages returning to their homes – no. The government of Israel takes care of its enemy and not its citizens.”
Israel supplied close to 50 percent of Gaza’s electricity before the current war, but cut off its electricity supply to Gaza on October 12 last year following the Hamas invasion and atrocities on October 7.
The UN and other agencies have deplored the humanitarian situation in Gaza in recent weeks, in particular in northern Gaza where a group of UN and independent organizations said last week the situation was “apocalyptic.”
