GENEVA, November 15. /TASS/. About 70% of residents of the Gaza Strip will lose access to clean water by the end of the day amid fuel shortages in the enclave, said Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

"By the end of today, around 70% of the population in Gaza won’t have access to clean water," he wrote on his X page (formerly Twitter). "To have fuel for trucks only will not save lives anymore," Lazzarini added.

Earlier, UNRWA reported receiving half a tank of fuel to transport humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. According to the agency's director in the enclave, Thomas White, fuel needed for water supplies and hospitals has not reached Gaza.

The agency also informed on Wednesday that public sewage pumping stations, 60 water wells in southern Gaza, as well as two main desalination plants in Rafah city and the central part of the enclave have stopped working due to a lack of fuel. In northern Gaza, the desalination plant and the Israeli water pipeline are not operational. UNRWA assesses that, combined with the shutdown of municipal sanitation services, this poses a serious public health threat, increasing the risk of water contamination and disease outbreaks.