UNITED NATIONS, July 22 (IPS) – Palestinians in Gaza have been victims of a double tragedy: they have been killed by Israeli weapons, mainly American-made, and they are dying of starvation.
And now comes the revelation of a new weapon of war: how Israel has systematically used water as a weapon against Palestinians in Gaza, according to a new report from global human rights organization Oxfam.
The report, “Water War Crimes,” finds that Israel’s cutting off of external water supplies, systematic destruction of water facilities and deliberate obstruction of aid have reduced the amount of water available in Gaza by 94% to 4.74 liters per day per person — just under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies and less than one flush of a toilet.
Oxfam’s analysis also found:
- Since the war began last October, Israeli military strikes have damaged or destroyed five water and sanitation facilities every three days.
- The destruction of water and electricity infrastructure and restrictions on the import of spare parts and fuel (an average of one-fifth of the required amount is allowed to be imported) caused water production in Gaza to fall by 84%. External supplies from Israel’s national water company Mekorot fell by 78%.
- Israel has destroyed 70% of all sewage pumps and 100% of all wastewater treatment plants, as well as Gaza’s main water quality testing laboratories. It has also restricted the import of Oxfam’s water testing equipment.
James E. Jennings, PhD, president of Conscience International and executive director of US Academics for Peace, told IPS that aid and development organizations know that what they call WATSAN, or Water and Sanitation, is fundamental to human health and survival, even beyond food and shelter.
Conscience International realized in the early days of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza that the lack of safe water supplies for Gaza would ultimately claim far more lives than the bombs, he stressed.
“The only thing we did wrong was estimate how long it would take to reach the deadly point where we are now. It is a tribute to the resilience and talent of Gaza’s citizens that clean water somehow continues to flow in small quantities despite Israel’s destruction of an estimated 94% of Gaza’s sewage treatment plants.”
Gaza’s deliberately imposed lack of drinking water cannot continue in the sweltering heat of July, August, September and October without condemning masses of civilians to death. Children and the elderly, who were not part of the conflict, are the most vulnerable, Dr. Jennings said.
“Even if all restrictions on aid access were lifted immediately – which Israel continues to refuse to do – many innocent people will still die as logistical and technical challenges make meeting the need for drinking water nearly impossible.”
This humanitarian crisis was predictable and inevitable. The international community has failed to intervene to stop the ongoing genocide. Now it is too late, he declared.
The Oxfam report also shows that this extreme lack of clean water and sanitation has a serious impact on the health of Palestinians. More than a quarter (26%) of Gaza’s population falls seriously ill from easily preventable diseases.
In January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately improve humanitarian access after finding that South Africa had made plausible claims under the Genocide Convention. Since then, Oxfam has seen firsthand how Israel has blocked a meaningful humanitarian response, leading to the killing of Palestinian civilians, the report said.
Scott Paul, deputy director of peace and security at Oxfam America, said: “Oxfam’s new analysis leaves little doubt that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has systematically destroyed Gaza’s clean water supply and infrastructure.
“Today, Palestinians in Gaza have almost no water to drink, let alone to bathe, cook, or clean. Prime Minister Netanyahu must restore adequate water, food, electricity, and other essential aid to all people in Gaza. Instead of giving him the platform to redouble his deadly offensive against Congress, American leaders should halt the delivery of bombs 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, resulting in Palestinian civilian deaths:
“The deliberate restriction of access to water is not a new tactic. The Israeli government has been depriving Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza of safe and sufficient water for years,” she said.
“The widespread destruction and significant restrictions on aid deliveries in Gaza, which are affecting access to water and other essentials for survival, underscore 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 Conventions and the Genocide Convention.”
Monther Shoblak, General Manager of the CMWU water utility in the Gaza Strip, said: “My colleagues and I have been through a nightmare these past nine months, but we still feel it is our responsibility and duty to ensure that everyone in Gaza gets their minimum right to clean drinking water. It has been very difficult, but we are determined to keep trying – even as we see our colleagues being attacked and killed by Israel while doing their jobs.”
Oxfam is calling for urgent measures, including an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and for Israel to allow a full and unfettered humanitarian response and pay for the cost of rebuilding water and sanitation infrastructure.
Dr Jennings also said that as early as 2017, Amnesty International alerted the world to the potentially dire consequences of Israel’s control over water resources for the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza, calling it “systematic,” “devastating” and “discriminatory.”
Years before that report was released, Gaza’s sewage crisis had been a source of concern for several local government agencies.
Oxfam now claims that Israel’s “Water War Crimes” have reduced the available clean water in Gaza to 6% of what it was when the war began. A water drilling company in Africa uses the slogan “Water is Life,” and it is.
In addition, experts recently found the polio virus in mud puddles and sewage pools in Gaza’s tent camps, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge to escape Israel’s deadly nine-month bombardment, he noted.
Meanwhile, a staggering 186,000 killings in Gaza – compared to the official figure of more than 37,000 – have led to fresh allegations of genocide and war crimes in the devastating nine-month war between Israel and Hamas, with no sign of a ceasefire.
The new estimates come from The Lancet, one of the UK’s most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals.
In recent conflicts, the article titled “Counting the Dead in Gaza: Difficult but Essential” states, the number of indirect deaths is three to fifteen times higher than the number of direct deaths.
“If we apply a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per direct death to the 37,396 reported deaths, it is not improbable to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza,” The Lancet said.
The rampant killings in Gaza are in retaliation for the 1,200 deaths Hamas committed in Israel on October 7.
IPS UN Office Report
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
