(Adnkronos) – The United Arab Emirates has started construction of a large water pipeline to transport desalinated water from Egypt to the south of the Gaza Strip. Emirati technical teams have begun transporting the necessary equipment for the project, the Emirati state news agency Wam reported, according to which the pipeline will be almost seven kilometers long and will be able to alleviate what it calls a “water crisis” in the territory. In parallel, Abu Dhabi has launched “several initiatives to dig and rehabilitate drinking water wells,” the news agency points out.
The Israeli Defense Ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, Cogat, also recently stated that construction of the pipeline would begin in the next few days and would take a few weeks. The project will connect a desalination plant in Egypt to the Al-Mawasi area, along the Gaza coast, and could provide water to about 600,000 people a day, the agency explains.
Access to drinking water is extremely limited throughout Gaza, forcing its 2.4 million residents to rely on saltwater, often undrinkable, or irregular aid deliveries. According to estimates by the Palestinian Water Authority, over 80% of Gaza’s water infrastructure was damaged during the war between Israel and Hamas. Following cuts in Israeli supplies, most Gazans rely on polluted wells or sporadic water deliveries from NGOs, themselves hampered by limited access. The Deir el-Balah desalination plant in central Gaza returned to full operation last weekend after being reconnected to the Israeli electricity grid for the first time since spring.
