The World Health Organization has repeated its warnings of the dire situation in the Gaza Strip, pointing to a particularly precarious water shortage, as the densely populated Palestinian territory has been under siege.

The WHO estimates that there are only 3 liters of water per person per day left, whereas the minimum requirement per person is 15 liters, for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

Hardly anyone has taken a proper shower or bath there in recent weeks, he said. With about 1 million displaced people, toilets are a huge problem, he said. Diarrhoeal diseases, skin and respiratory infections are only a matter of time.

A report from the US National Academies of Science and Medicine says men need to drink about 3.7 liters and women need about 2.7 liters per day to be adequately hydrated.