Gaza Runs Dry: MSF Accuses Israel of “Deliberate” Water Deprivation

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has accused Israeli authorities of deliberately depriving Palestinians in Gaza of access to water, calling the policy part of a “genocidal campaign.”

According to MSF, after nearly 22 months of war and blockade, Gaza’s water system is collapsing. Desalination plants, pipelines, and treatment facilities have been repeatedly damaged or destroyed, while the entry of vital equipment and fuel has been blocked. “Water has become another weapon of war,” the organization said in a statement.

International bodies such as UNICEF and the UN have echoed similar concerns. The Guardian reported that only 40% of Gaza’s water installations remain operational, crippled by fuel shortages and lack of electricity to power pumps and distribution networks.

One of the largest desalination stations, located in Khan Younis, has seen its production fall from 17 million liters per day to just 2.5 million since March, when new restrictions were imposed.

A Humanitarian Catastrophe in Numbers

• Water access below survival levels: A Wall Street Journal investigation revealed some Gaza residents are surviving on just two liters of water per day, far below the World Health Organization’s emergency minimum of 15 liters
• Famine deepens: Over half a million people in Gaza City are already facing famine, a direct result of water scarcity combined with food blockades
• Public health crisis: MSF doctors report spikes in diarrheal disease, skin infections, and malnutrition linked directly to lack of clean water

Aid agencies argue this is not collateral damage but deliberate strategy. “Israel is intentionally cutting off Palestinians from clean water,” said MSF, urging the international community to act. The UN has warned that the deprivation of food and water may amount to war crimes under international law.

Diplomats and rights groups are calling for an immediate end to the blockade and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid. UN officials stressed that famine and drought in Gaza are “entirely man-made and preventable”.

In October 2023, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared in unequivocal terms: “We are fighting human animals, and we will cut everything.” At the time, the statement was widely seen as a warning that Gaza’s electricity, water, fuel, and other essential supplies could be deliberately restricted amid the ongoing conflict.

Nearly two years on, those words have become a grim reality. What was once a political warning now reads, to critics, as a chilling prelude to one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

@TNPP