Renewed disruptions in Israel's national water supply: The Water Authority announced on Tuesday that the majority of the desalination facilities in Israel have gone offline for the second time in 24 hours.
After operating overnight, the facilities were shut down again due to a sharp increase in seawater turbidity.
The water sector has instructed local authorities to immediately reduce irrigation in public parks and agricultural actives, while reducing water usage in public areas. The Water Authority stressed that "the regular water supply to homes and households as usual, and in places where specific issues are discovered, the scope of activity is reduced while providing a focused response from the operations center."
The wave of shutdowns began on Monday afternoon, when facilities located south of Hadera ceased operations due to unusual weather conditions. Following the initial shutdown, residents in the Coastal Plain, central and southern regions were instructed to prepare for possible water outages. Official notices warning of temporary disruptions were also issued in Givatayim, Rishon Lezion, and Jerusalem.
Amid rumors circulating on social media, the Israel National Cyber Directorate clarified that the incident was not caused by a cyberattack targeting critical infrastructure. Officials stressed that the malfunction was caused solely by the unusual weather conditions affecting the region in recent days, which led to changes in the composition and quality of the water.