When Palestinians in the Gaza Strip seek some relief from the grind of life in an enclave plagued by conflict and hardship, they usually need to look no further than their sandy beaches.
But this summer access to the cooling waters of the Mediterranean is gradually being closed off to Gaza's 1.8 million residents, due to pollution stemming from the fuel shortages that have halted work at sewage treatment facilities.
Baha al-Agha of the Gaza Environment Quality Authority said about 100,000 cubic metres of untreated waste water are being pumped into the sea daily.
"Swimming is prohibited" signs have gone up at several beaches. But at one of Gaza's most popular beaches, dozens of people, including children, splashed in the water over the weekend despite the posted warning.
"Things are getting worse day by day in the absence of real and quick solutions," Agha said. He called on the Palestinian unity government formed earlier this month to act immediately, "before Gaza beaches are declared a disaster area".
Garbage has been piling up on the streets, with some 75 percent of sanitation trucks idled by the Gaza municipality's inability to pay high fuel prices.
Driving along Gaza's coastal road, the smell of sewage is sharp and waves hitting the beach are yellowish and brown.
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