UNITED NATIONS, July 22 (IPS) – Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have fallen victim to two tragedies: killings by Israeli-made, mostly American-made weapons and starvation.
And now a new weapon of war has been unveiled: Israel is systematically weaponizing water against Palestinians in Gaza, according to a new report from global human rights organization Oxfam.
The report, titled “Water War Crimes,” found that Israel’s blocking of external water supplies, systematic destruction of water infrastructure, and deliberate obstruction of aid had reduced the amount of water available in Gaza by 94 percent, to just 4.74 litres per person per day. That’s just under a third of the minimum recommended for emergencies, and not enough to flush a toilet.
Oxfam’s analysis also found:
- Israeli military strikes have damaged or destroyed five water and sanitation infrastructure facilities every three days since the war began in October last year.
- Water production in Gaza has fallen by 84% due to the destruction of water and electricity infrastructure and restrictions on the import of spare parts and fuel (on average, only one-fifth of the required amount is allowed). External supplies from Israel’s state-owned water company Mekorot have fallen by 78%.
- Israel has destroyed 70% of all sewage pumps in the Gaza Strip, 100% of all wastewater treatment plants, destroyed a key water testing laboratory, and restricted the entry of Oxfam water testing equipment.
Dr. James E. Jennings, president of Conscience International and executive director of US Academics for Peace, told IPS that aid and development agencies know that WATSAN, or water and sanitation, is more fundamental to human health and survival than food and shelter.
He noted that from the beginning of Israel’s massacre in Gaza, Conscience International realized that without safe water access in Gaza, far more people would eventually die than would be killed by the bombs.
“The only mistake we made was to estimate how long it would take to reach such a critical point as this. It is a tribute to the resilience and talent of the Gazan people that clean water has somehow continued to flow in small quantities despite Israel destroying some 94 percent of Gaza’s water treatment facilities.”
The deliberately enforced water shortage in Gaza is likely to kill many civilians who cannot endure the stifling heat of July, August, September and October. Children and the elderly, who are not involved in the conflict at all, are the most vulnerable, Dr. Jennings said.
“Even if all the aid access restrictions that Israel continues to deny were lifted immediately, many innocent people would still die because logistical and technical problems make it nearly impossible to meet the demand for potable water.”
This humanitarian crisis was predictable and inevitable. The international community has so far failed to intervene to stop the ongoing genocide. It is now too late, he declared.
The Oxfam report highlights the dire lack of clean water and sanitation facilities, which is having a serious impact on the health of Palestinians, with more than a quarter (26%) of the population in Gaza falling seriously ill from easily preventable diseases.
In January, the International Court of Justice demanded that Israel immediately improve humanitarian access after finding that South Africa had made a plausible claim under the Genocide Convention. Since then, Oxfam has seen firsthand how Israel has obstructed a meaningful humanitarian response and, according to reports, killed Palestinian civilians.
“Oxfam’s new analysis leaves little doubt that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has systematically destroyed clean water supplies and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip,” said Scott Paul, Oxfam Americas deputy director for peace and security.
“Today, Palestinians in Gaza have little water to drink, much less to bathe, cook, and clean. Prime Minister Netanyahu must restore sufficient water, food, electricity, and other essential services to everyone in Gaza. Instead of giving him a platform to double down on his deadly offensive against Congress, American leaders should cut off the supply of bombs that are being used to kill civilians and destroy Gaza—and with it, any hope for peace.”
Oxfam water and sanitation expert Lama Abdul Samad said it was clear that Israel had created a devastating humanitarian emergency that was causing deaths to Palestinian civilians.
“Intentionally restricting access to water is not a new tactic. The Israeli government has failed to provide safe and sufficient water to Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza for years,” she said.
“The widespread destruction affecting access to water and other survival necessities in Gaza, and the significant restrictions on the delivery of aid, highlight the urgent need for the international community to take decisive action to prevent further suffering by upholding justice and human rights, including those enshrined in the Geneva and Genocide Conventions.”
“My colleagues and I have been living a nightmare for the past nine months, but we still feel it is our responsibility and duty to ensure that everyone in Gaza has the minimum right to clean drinking water. It has been very difficult, but we are determined to keep trying, even as we witness Israel targeting and killing our colleagues while they are doing their jobs,” said Monter Shoblak, president of the Gaza Water Authority CMWU.
Oxfam is calling for urgent action, including an immediate and permanent ceasefire, allowing Israel to provide a full and unrestricted humanitarian response, and for Israel to shoulder the costs of rebuilding water and sanitation infrastructure.
Dr Jennings also recalled that in 2017, Amnesty International warned the world that Israel’s control of water resources for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was “systematic,” “destructive,” and “discriminatory,” with potentially dire consequences.
Years before that report came out, the sewage crisis in Gaza was also a concern for several local governments.
Oxfam now claims that Israel’s “war crime against water” has reduced the availability of clean water in Gaza to just 6% of what it was when the war began. An African water drilling company uses the slogan “Water is life” and it’s true.
Moreover, he noted, experts have recently found poliovirus in mud pools and pools of sewage in tent cities in the Gaza Strip where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge after nine months of deadly Israeli bombardment.
Meanwhile, a whopping 186,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip—the official figure is more than 37,000—resulting in renewed accusations of genocide and war crimes committed during the nine-month-long, devastating war between Israel and Hamas, with no sign of a ceasefire.
The new estimates come from The Lancet, one of the most prestigious British peer-reviewed medical journals.
According to an article titled “Counting the Death toll in Gaza: Difficult but Essential,” indirect deaths in recent conflicts have ranged from three to 15 times higher than direct deaths.
According to The Lancet, “If we apply a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths for every direct death to the 37,396 reported deaths, it is not unrealistic to speculate that the current conflict in Gaza could result in as many as 186,000 deaths or more.”
The disproportionate killings in Gaza are retaliation for Hamas’ killing of 1,200 people inside Israel on October 7.
IPS UN Secretariat Report
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal Source: Inter Press Service
