The United Nations said on Monday that infrastructure damage caused by the Israeli offensive in Gaza has resulted in 500,000 people losing access to running water in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and the problem can only be solved when hostilities end. “There is no solution while the fighting goes on because the areas where the water wells are in the conflict zone,” said John Ging, the head of the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza. He added that the three-hour daily lull period is inadequate. “That just gives us enough time to assess the damage but not to fix it.” In the interim, UNRWA is delivering drinking water and water purification kits to affected residents. Meanwhile, the World Food Program said it is delivering ready-to-eat meals to people in Gaza because of a lack of cooking fuel as well as daily power outages. The U.N. also responded Monday to allegations by human rights groups that Israeli forces have used weapons containing white phosphorous, a chemical that causes severe burns. “We have no hard evidence of the use of phosphorous. But certainly if it was being used in such a densely populated area we would regard that with extreme seriousness and deep condemnation,” said Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes.
