“We had no running water for the past two days – when there is no fuel, water is not pumped regularly into houses. The tank on our rooftop is empty. So we can’t even flush our toilet. Fuel cannot enter Gaza through the supply tunnels recently shut down by Egypt’s new government. As a result Gaza’s water-treatment plant is at standstill, with raw sewage waist-deep in some streets and flooding into Gazan homes, bringing with it rats and disease… Gaza City’s garbage trucks have been at a standstill due to the ongoing fuel shortage. In Gaza’s Barcelona neighborhood, garbage containers are overflowing—a normal occurrence since fuel ran out… Tonight, the smell of rotten sewage floods into my nose. I inhale and exhale the stink of rotten garbage. The night air is filled with this suffocating smell…”
