Access to clean water in Gaza is ‘matter of life and death’: UN agency

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said Wednesday that in Gaza, "access to clean water is a matter of life and death."

"In Gaza, every day is a struggle to find bread and water. Every day is a struggle to survive," it said on X.

The agency pointed out that "without safe water, many more people will die from deprivation and disease."

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing at least 26,900 Palestinians and injuring 65,949. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.