In war-ravaged Gaza, every drop of water counts, making Inas al-Ghul’s makeshift sun-powered water filter a vital asset for parched Palestinians surviving endless bombardment under the territory’s scorching heat
Khan Yunis, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 20th Aug, 2024) In war-ravaged Gaza, every drop of water counts, making Inas al-Ghul’s makeshift sun-powered water filter a vital asset for parched Palestinians surviving endless bombardment under the territory’s scorching heat.
Using wood from the few pallets of aid that make it into Gaza, and window panes salvaged from buildings that have largely been abandoned in 10 months of war, the 50-year-old agricultural engineer built a glass-covered trough.
She lets saltwater evaporate from the trough, heated by the greenhouse effect created by the glass panes, allowing the water to distil and leaving behind the salt.
From there, a long black hose carries the evaporated water to other containers filled with activated charcoal to further filter out impurities.
“It is a very simple device, it’s very simple to use and to build,” Ghul told AFP after taking a long gulp from a glass of filtered water in her house in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
– Abundant energy –
Ghul’s device “doesn’t require electricity, filters, or solar panels, it operates solely on solar energy”, which Gaza has in abundance, with 14 hours of sunshine per day in the summer, and eight hours in the winter.
This has proven particularly useful at a time when Gaza’s only power plant is down and electricity supplies from Israel have been cut for months.
With fuel also in short supply, Gaza’s desalination plants that haven’t been damaged in the fighting have been working at a drastically reduced capacity.
Mohammad Abu Daoud, a displaced Gazan sweating in the midday sun, said Ghul’s invention “comes exactly at the right time”.
“For about two months, we have relied on it entirely,” he told AFPTV.
This brings crucial help to those who benefit from it, as the available water for Gazans currently averages 4.74 litres per day, “under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies”, Oxfam reported in July.
