With an atmospheric depression over the Gaza Strip, heavy rain has fallen on the war-torn enclave, prompting Palestinians to fear an overflow of water from the Sheikh Radwan pond in the north of Gaza City.
The Sheikh Radwan pond is the largest in Gaza City for collecting rainwater, but the Israeli army's destruction of the conveying sewage lines caused wastewater to leak into it, creating a sanitary hazard.
The Gaza Municipality also lost the ability to provide basic services in the city due to the continuation of the Israeli war, the depletion of fuel, and the Israeli army's targeting of most of its equipment and headquarters, which resulted in the cessation of water drainage from the pond.
Municipality spokesman Hosni Muhanna warned of the danger of the Sheikh Radwan pond flooding and filling hundreds of surrounding homes with sewage, after the accumulated water level reached critical levels.
Muhanna told Anadolu that "rain falling on Gaza City for one or two days continuously will inevitably lead to the pond's water overflowing, causing huge losses, whether in lives or property and deepening the health and environmental crises."
"This pond is designated for collecting rainwater, but the Israeli army's targeting of sewage conveyor lines in the surrounding areas led to sewage water leaking into it," the spokesman added.
He explained that fuel is required to power the pond pumps, which discharge water towards the seashore.
Muhanna noted that the municipality has been without fuel since November, making the situation more dangerous and complicated.
He called on international institutions to intervene urgently and provide the fuel needed to operate rainwater and sewage pumps, thereby resolving the crisis.
Muhammad Al-Khudari, a resident of the Al-Manara neighborhood adjacent to the pond, fears that its waters will flood and submerge the entire area, especially in light of the lack of capabilities to avoid this catastrophic scenario.
"The pond fills with water every year," Khudari told Anadolu, noting that "In 2013, water collected in this pond flooded and reached the first floors of some residential homes."
"The Israeli bombing and destruction of this area will exacerbate the disaster if it is not remedied," warned the Palestinian man.
Khudari pointed out that the pumps at Sheikh Radwan pond have already stopped working due to a lack of fuel.
He urged Arab countries to intervene and find a solution to this recurring problem in the Al-Manara neighborhood.
Given the population density in the area, a disaster will occur if the waters of the Sheikh Radwan pond flood, said elderly Nael Al-Yaziji, who also lives near the pond and whose house was partially damaged by the Israeli bombing a few weeks ago.
Yaziji explained to Anadolu that the destruction and intense Israeli bombing of the area forced a large number of Palestinians to flee.
However, he pointed out that the region still has a large number of residents and displaced people.
He expressed concern that heavy rains would cause pond water contaminated with sewage to overflow, resulting in health and environmental disasters as well as disease spread.
He stressed the entire world to step in and provide relief to Gaza and its residents, as well as supply the municipality with fuel to keep the pumps running and avert an imminent disaster.
Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group which Tel Aviv claims killed 1,200 people in Israel.
At least 23,968 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 60,582 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
According to the UN, 85% of the population of Gaza is already internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.
