Children among more than 700 people killed while waiting to get water
The Government Media Office in Gaza says attacks on people waiting in line for water have killed more than 700 Palestinians as part of a “systematic thirst war”.
The Israeli army has targeted 112 freshwater filling points and destroyed 720 water wells, putting them out of service. This has deprived more than 1.25 million people of access to clean water, the office said in a statement.
“We affirm that this racist policy constitutes a full-fledged war crime under the Geneva Conventions, and a grave violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law.”
The office said Israel has prevented the entry of 12 million litres of fuel monthly, the amount necessary to operate the minimum number of water wells, sewage treatment plants, garbage collection vehicles and other vital services. This ban has “caused near-total paralysis of water and sewage networks and worsened the spread of diseases, especially among children”, the office said.
On March 9, Israel cut off the last power line feeding the last water desalination plant in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, halting the production of large quantities of drinking water and further deepening the enclave’s water crisis.
Fuel blockade continues to worsen Gaza’s water crisis
Gaza’s water crisis has intensified since Israel blocked nearly all fuel shipments into the enclave on March 2. With no fuel, desalination plants, wastewater treatment facilities and pumping stations have largely shut down.
Families, many of them with children, are spending hours each day under the scorching sun searching for a few litres of water just to survive.
Asem Alnabih, a spokesperson for Gaza’s municipality, said yesterday that only 12 of more than 70 municipal wells remain operational. “We’re on the verge of death. Water can reach only 50 percent of the city,” Alnabih told Al Jazeera, adding that the rest get nothing.
Aya Fayoumi, a displaced Palestinian, says her family doesn’t get enough water for their basic needs. “There’s never any water in the toilets. There’s barely enough drinking water. So we have nothing left for personal hygiene or to wash clothes,” she said.
According to the International Rescue Committee, most people in Gaza now receive far less than the World Health Organization’s emergency minimum of 15 litres per person per day.
UN warns lifelines in Gaza will ‘vanish’ without fuel
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has issued a stark warning that fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and on a consistent basis to keep life-saving humanitarian operations running.
“Without fuel, the lifelines will vanish for 2.1 million people in Gaza,” the agency said on X.
“Without adequate fuel, UN agencies responding to this crisis will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely, directly impacting all essential services in Gaza. This means no health services, no clean water, and no capacity to deliver aid.”
The warning comes after the UN said it was allowed to deliver the first fuel shipment to Gaza in 130 days on Thursday. It was not enough to meet even a single day’s needs, leaving hospitals, water facilities and aid operations on the verge of collapse, it said.
