GAZA,(Palestine Foundation Information Center) Gaza’s Government Media Office (GMO) has accused the Israeli occupation army of committing “one of the most heinous crimes against humanity” by waging “deliberate and systematic thirst warfare” against the Palestinians in the war-ravaged Strip.
In a statement on Monday, GMO said the Israeli army had committed dozens of massacres against civilians fetching water, killing over 700 people, most of them children.
“Water is being used as a weapon of war to collectively punish the population and strip them of their most basic human rights,” GMO added.
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, according to the office’s 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.”
GMO also accused the Israeli occupation regime of preventing the entry of 12 million liters 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 Israeli ban has “caused near-total paralysis of water and sewage networks and worsened the spread of diseases, especially among children,” GMO 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, GMO added.
GMO called for urgent international action to immediately end Israel’s thirst warfare in Gaza, ensure unhindered access to water for civilians, and pressure the Israeli government to allow the entry of fuel and essential equipment to operate water wells and sewage systems.
