Gaza (Quds News Network)- The Israeli occupation is accused of waging “systematic thirst warfare” against the Gaza Strip, carrying out 112 massacres targeting civilians fetching water, killing over 700 people, most of them children.
Gaza’s Government Media Office accused on Monday Israel of committing “one of the most heinous crimes against humanity” by waging a “deliberate and systematic thirst warfare” against Palestinians in the war-torn Strip. “Water is being used as a weapon of war to collectively punish the population and strip them of their most basic human rights,” the Office added. According to statistics released by the Office, the Israeli forces have committed the following crimes:- Targeted 112 freshwater collection points, committing massacres against hundreds of civilians, most of them children, who were waiting in lines to collect drinking water.
- The most recent of these atrocities occurred at the New Camp area northwest of Al-Nuseirat Camp (central Gaza), where 12 people were killed, including 8 children.
- Deliberately destroyed 720 water wells, putting them out of service. This has deprived over 1.25 million people of access to clean water.
- Prevented the entry of 12 million liters of fuel per month, the minimum required to operate water wells, sewage treatment plants, waste collection vehicles, and other vital sectors. This blockade has led to the near-total paralysis of water and sewage systems, exacerbating the spread of diseases and epidemics, particularly among children.
- Since January 23, 2025, the occupation has cut off “Mekorot” water supplies – one of the main water sources feeding Gaza’s governorates – further intensifying the water crisis and daily suffering.
- On March 9, 2025, the occupation severed the last power line that supplied the central seawater desalination plant located south of Deir al-Balah (central Gaza), halting the production of large quantities of drinking water and worsening the already dire water crisis.
