Four human rights organizations, namely Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Al-Haq Foundation, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, and Habitat International Coalition issued an urgent and detailed appeal to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the escalating water and sanitation crisis in the Gaza Strip and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The appeal pointed out that the people of Gaza are now living in a long-term humanitarian disaster, as about 95% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. In August 2020, Israel tightened its punitive measures against the civilian population, by closing the Karem Abu Salem crossing and imposing a unilateral embargo on fuel shipments to the besieged Gaza Strip, resulting in power cuts and a significant increase in the water and sanitation crisis. Especially also with the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), which adds another critical factor to the squalid water and sanitation conditions in the Strip, as many Gazans are unable to implement basic and preventive safety measures from the epidemic, such as hand hygiene, which exposes the Strip’s two million residents. People are increasingly at risk. To check the news, click here