Israel reopens 2nd of 3 water pipelines flowing into Gaza Strip

Israel reopens the second of three water pipelines that provide water to the Gaza Strip, now allowing for a total of some 28.5 million liters a day to flow into the Hamas-run territory.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announces that the second pipeline was reopened on Saturday.

The supply of a total of 28.5 million liters a day is just over half the approximately 49 million liters a day Israel supplied before the war.

On October 9, Israel cut off the piped water it sends into Gaza, which amounts to 9 percent of the coastal enclave’s water supply in peacetime, according to a COGAT official, but reopened one of the southern pipelines last week with a reduced flow.

COGAT says that there is now sufficient water and food to meet Gaza’s humanitarian requirements, adding that the agency is constantly monitoring the situation in the territory.

COGAT adds that Hamas is distributing fuel to hospitals in Gaza to keep them operating on diesel generators, partly in order to keep the hospitals occupied since Hamas has built command and control centers underneath these health facilities.

“The hospitals are military operational infrastructures,” says a senior COGAT official.