The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) has sent a briefing to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food entitled “Israeli genocide causing environmental disaster, aggravating drought and protracted famine”.

PRC said that half of Gaza water sites have been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces since Israel began a genocidal military campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Damage to a major supplies depot has also severely disrupted repairs.

PRC has warned that the lack of clean water and flows of untreated sewage pose a serious threat to health.

Accumulating garbage and sewage across the Gaza Strip, combined with hot temperatures and a lack of clean water are rapidly accelerating the spread of diseases.

Citing the World Health Organization, PRC has warned of an outbreak of Hepatitis A that, as of early June, had led to 81,700 reported cases of jaundice — a common symptom. The disease spreads primarily when uninfected people consume water or food contaminated with faecal matter.

It added that almost half a million Palestinians across Gaza are still facing catastrophic levels of hunger and that a high risk of famine persists as long as the Israeli genocide continues and humanitarian access is restricted.

PRC called on the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food to urgently shed light on and investigate the ongoing environmental disaster the Israeli genocide is causing in Gaza, which has aggravated vulnerabilities from drought and famine.