Systematic war of thirst: Israel kills 700 Palestinians collecting water in Gaza

Gaza City, July 15.- The Government Media Office in Gaza says more than 700 Palestinians, including children, have been killed while collecting water, as part of Israel’s “deliberate war of thirst” against people in the besieged territory.

In a statement released on Monday, the office said Israeli forces have been using water as a weapon of war in order to deprive Palestinians of their most basic rights.  “The Israeli occupation continues to wage a systematic and deliberate war of thirst against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” it added.

“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 media office also noted that the Israeli military has targeted 112 freshwater filling points and destroyed 720 water wells in the Gaza Strip, preventing the access of 1.25 million people to clean water.

It further said that the occupation’s army has obstructed the entry of 12 million liters of fuel monthly, the necessary amount to operate the minimum number of water wells, waste collection mechanisms, sewage stations, and other vital sectors across Gaza.  “This has caused a complete paralysis in water and sewage networks and the spread of epidemics, mainly among the children,” it added.

Meanwhile, the media office called on the international community and human rights organizations to take immediate action towards stopping Israel’s war of thirst and allowing the entry of fuel and heavy equipment needed to reoperate water wells and drainage stations in Gaza.

On Sunday, Israeli airstrikes targeted a water distribution point north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least 10 thirsty people, including 6 children, who were queuing for drinking water.

The Gaza Strip is facing a rapidly worsening crisis in access to clean water amid Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

Israel unleashed its brutal onslaught on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance group carried out its historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far failed to achieve its declared objectives of eliminating Hamas and freeing captives in Gaza, despite killing 58,026 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 138,500 others. (Take from Radio Habana Cuba)