News Center- The situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated further since Israel’s decision on Sunday to cut power to the enclave.

Severe water shortages in Gaza have reached critical levels, with only one in 10 people currently able to access safe drinking water, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Monday.

Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF official in Gaza, reported that 600,000 people who had regained access to drinking water in November 2024 are once again cut off.

“It’s really vital for thousands of families and children to restore this connection,” she said.

UN agencies estimate that 1.8 million people, over half of them children, urgently need water, sanitation and hygiene assistance in the Gaza Strip.

“The situation is similar to the one which prevailed in October 2023,” Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said at a press conference in Geneva.