UNITED NATIONS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians on Thursday urged Israeli authorities to allow Gaza sanitation workers to remove waste from displacement sites and residential areas to Gaza’s designated landfills to mitigate potentially life-threatening risks of fire.

On Friday UN teams mobilized water tankers and machinery to support crews responding to a fire at Firas market, in the center of Gaza City, right next to people's shelters, which has been used as a major solid waste dump, as designated landfills has become inaccessible during hostilities, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press release.

As a result, trash now at the Firas market is covering an entire city block, exceeding four floors in height, OCHA said, stressing that sanitation partners report that Gaza's two sanitary landfills are near the perimeter fence surrounding the strip, where access needs to be enabled by the Israeli authorities.

OCHA also stressed the need for permissions to bring into Gaza machinery to remove waste, rubble and explosive ordnance, as well as the spare parts required to operate that equipment.

The office said such authorizations are also critical for addressing health risks associated with pests and rodents.

UN humanitarian partners report that people's access to water remains challenging. With infrastructure destroyed, some 40 partners are delivering roughly 20,000 cubic meters of water by truck every day, an operation that's heavily dependent on fuel and sustained funding, according to the office.

"To meet the need for drinking and cooking water, families are required to collect it directly from trucks at about 2,000 distribution points," OCHA said. "Yet many people lack adequate containers for collecting and storing water, and service providers are unable to fully ensure equitable distribution."

In the West Bank, humanitarians warned that foot-and-mouth disease is now increasing concerns for vulnerable Bedouin and herding communities, whose livestock is their primary source of income and food. UN partners report that movement restrictions and insecurity are complicating timely vaccination and veterinary response efforts. ■