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On August 19, Israeli artillery shelled areas near Gaza City. No injuries were reported. Tanks and combat forces make regular incursions, area air space violated daily. Farmers are attacked on their land, fishermen at sea. On August 18, air attacks bombed tunnels, an area near Gaza City, and a central Gazan building belonging to the Al Qassam Brigades. The pattern repeats provocatively, mostly against civilians, always in violation of international law Israel disdainfully spurns.
B'Tselem Update on Gaza's Polluted Water
Headlined, "Water supplied in Gaza unfit for drinking; Israel prevents entry of materials needed to repair system," B'Tselem reports that "Almost 95 percent (of Gaza's water) is polluted and unfit for drinking," a topic addressed in two earlier articles, accessed through the following links:
The UN Environment Programme, Palestinian Water Authority, Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, and international aid organizations issued the above warning, estimating "it will take at least 20 years to rehabilitate Gaza's underground water system, and any delay" will cause further deterioration, perhaps requiring "hundreds of years" to fix.
The crisis arose "following over-pumping" of Coastal Aquifer water, an amount double what's needed to replenish it. As a result, it's permeated with salt water and other contaminants. Also, Cast Lead destruction, wastewater disposal into the Mediterranean for lack of enough power to treat it, and poor maintenance, from prohibited spare parts and equipment, caused more pollution and greater salinity.
Majed Ghanem, Gazan Coastal Municipalities Water Utility quality control director, said a late 2009 examination showed 93% of 180 wells tested had chloride levels four to eight times higher than WHO maximums and nitrate levels six times higher, making the water unsafe to drink. It also looks and smells bad, the Palestinian Water Authority saying almost 40% of Gazan diseases are water related.
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