(18 Dec 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rafah, Gaza Strip - 18 December 2023
1. Various of people queuing for and transporting water
2. Various of jerrycans being filled, people queuing
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Eyad Hellis, displaced man from Gaza City:
"I have to manage with these two jerrycans to wash the dishes, do the laundry, and for drinking. It is very difficult to fill in and carry more than two jerrycans, even for someone young, in his 20s, it is difficult to carry two of these jerrycans for two kilometres on the way back to the camp. I mean, our life is tragic, very hard. The situation is very difficult, sometimes we run out of water by the evening and the kids have to sleep thirsty until the sun rises and we can go out to fill up again."
4. Various of people queuing for and transporting water, jerrycans
5. Displaced family preparing fire for cooking
6. Various of displaced woman cooking
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Raeda Abu al-Faish, displaced woman from Khan Younis:
"Well, today I brought some water from our neighbour over there. I brought the water and we kneaded dough. Now we don't have a drop of water left, I swear. Go and see if there is a drop of water left, there is nothing at all."
8. Various of kids in tent
9. Various of camp for displaced persons
STORYLINE:
Displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are struggling to get access to basic necessities including water.
The World Food Programme said on Dec. 14 that access to water in Gaza was severely constrained, with less than two litres per person per day, falling well short of the 17 litres a day that's considered the basic survival-level requirement.
Since the water distribution system broke down after Israel cut off electricity to the coastal enclave at the beginning of the war, people have had to queue at distribution points to get a few jerrycans of water each day.
The rare few who can still afford to, pay 1 shekel for transport.
But otherwise, many have to move the cans themselves, often across long distances.
"The situation is very difficult, sometimes we run out of water by the evening and the kids have to sleep thirsty until the sun rises and we can go out to fill up again," said Eyad Hellis, a displaced man from Gaza City.
Human Rights Watch, the New York-based rights organisation, on Monday accused Israel of deliberately starving Gaza’s population and blocking delivery of water, a method of warfare that it described as a war crime.
For the first two months of the war, humanitarian aid was delivered to Gaza through a single border crossing from Egypt, severely restricting the amount of food and other supplies that could reach the coastal enclave’s residents.
After pressure from the United States, Israel reopened a second border-crossing into Gaza last week.
But the amount of aid entering the territory is still less than half of pre-war imports, even as needs have soared and fighting hinders delivery in many areas.
Israel has blamed Hamas for the shortages, saying the militants steal the aid.
AP video shot by Mohammed Jahjouh
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