KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An East Tennessee man has returned home after bringing water purifying devices to the Gaza area.
Joe Hurston is the founder and president of Air Mobile Ministries, an organization that started in 1978 and brings supplies to areas struck by natural disasters, wars and worse across the world.
Five units were designated for Gaza and five other units were deployed into Egypt to serve refugees, Hurston said.
The devices are developed in East Tennessee and can produce up to 25 gallons of clean water an hour, according to the nonprofit's website.
In a blog post, Hurston said his "good friend Ben" was "on the ground" in Gaza. He gave Ben five of the water purification devices but said he couldn't give many details for security reasons.
"Ben is highly skilled and knows precisely where to place these life-saving units. We worked with Ben in both Turkey and Morocco and know his extraordinary abilities," Hurston said.
The United Nations said that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire.
"Hunger is rampant, disease and malnutrition are accelerating, desperation is growing," the UN said.
The UN's World Food Programme said a convoy successfully delivered enough food for 25,000 people to Gaza City on Tuesday. It's the first successful convoy that's been north of Gaza since Feb. 20.
Huston has spent decades responding to tragedies and violence. He said he realized water was one of the most important resources after doing relief work as a teenager, and learned that it could be easily contaminated as infrastructure was destroyed. So, he worked with another person to develop portable water purifiers that would ensure people had access to water.
Hurston said each water purifying machine costs around $3,000 and Air Mobile Ministries is working to fund all the machines. Anyone who wants to support the nonprofit can do so online.
Hurston will undergo planned knee surgery on Thursday. While he recovers, he said the nonprofit will work with people who can fly its planes and deliver the machines—providing support around the world from East Tennessee.
"This neck of the woods is the most generous, caring place I've ever been in my life," he said.