UN agency says without safe water, many more Palestinians will die

Without safe water, many more people will die from deprivation and disease, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Sunday.

"Our UNRWA team has delivered nearly 20,000,000 liters of water to people in Gaza," the agency said on X.

"But it's not enough to meet the needs. Without safe water, many more people will die from deprivation and disease. Conditions are inhumane. People struggle to survive without any of the basics," it added.

In another statement on X, UNRWA said that "as the largest humanitarian organization in the Gaza Strip, we will do whatever possible to continue our indispensable work to support people in Gaza."

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing at least 27,365 Palestinians and injuring 66,630 others, while 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.