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GAZA, PALESTINE, November 18, 2021 — Baitulmaal, a Dallas-based international humanitarian relief agency, recently installed a water desalination plant that provides clean, drinkable water to 9,500 residents in the Khan Younis governorate of the Gaza Strip.
The desalination plant is located in the village of Khuza’a in the Khan Younis camp. Residents are internally displaced Palestinians suffering from an ongoing occupation and blockade. They also suffer from a severe water shortage. According to Elizabeth Sohail, program manager at Baitulmaal, this project helps local Palestinians by purifying otherwise undrinkable water.
“Families in Gaza struggle to get clean water and often are left with few options besides buying questionable water from unreliable, unregulated sources at high prices,” Sohail said. “This water purification plant gives Palestinians access to safe, clean water at no cost to them.”
At a recent session of the UN Human Rights Council, experts warned that water in Gaza is “slowly poisoning” its residents. Water pollution is a leading cause of child mortality and accounts for a quarter of all illnesses in the area. The 11-day offensive on Gaza last May damaged 290 water supply facilities, exacerbating an already dire water crisis in the region.
The Khan Younis camp is considered to be one of the most vulnerable areas in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the UN, the area suffers from overcrowding, high unemployment and lack of access to adequate water and electricity. The UN estimates that up to 98 percent of the camp’s water supply is contaminated with sea water, sewage and other pollutants.
In addition to the new water desalination plant in Khan Younis, Baitulmaal operates 300 water tanks in the Gaza strip that provide safe, clean water to more than 15,000 residents. Another 100 tanks will be installed at the beginning of the year. To learn more about or contribute to these efforts, visit Baitulmaal.org.
Baitulmaal is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides life-saving, life-sustaining and life-enriching aid to people in need around the world. With headquarters in Texas, the charity has domestic offices in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey as well as international offices in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.
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