Israel Accused of Weaponizing Water Access Against Gaza: MSF
Doctors Without Borders condemns Israeli authorities' systematic deprivation of water in Gaza, describing it as 'collective punishment'.
GENEVA: Israeli authorities are systematically depriving people in Gaza of the water they need to live, Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday, decrying a campaign of "collective punishment" against Palestinians.
The extensive destruction of civilian water infrastructure in Gaza, coupled with obstruction of access, constitutes "an integral part of Israel's genocide," according to the medical charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF.
In a report titled "Water as a Weapon," MSF said that the "engineered scarcity" was occurring alongside "direct killing of civilians, the devastation of health facilities, (and) the destruction of homes".
Together, this amounted to "the deliberate infliction of destructive and inhumane conditions of life on the Palestinian population in Gaza," warned the report, based on testimonies and data MSF collected in 2024 and 2025.
The charity accused Israeli authorities of knowing that without water, life ends, yet deliberately destroying water infrastructure and blocking supplies from entering Gaza.
Despite a ceasefire in October following the 2023 war, daily violence persists as Israeli strikes continue, with both sides accusing each other of breaking the truce.
According to MSF, data from the United Nations, European Union, and World Bank indicate that nearly 90 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged.
The charity documented incidents where its clearly identified water trucks and boreholes were shot at or destroyed.
It provided more than 5.3 million liters of water each day last month, enough for over 407,000 people, but Israeli military displacement orders have prevented it from accessing areas it previously served.
MSF also stated that a third of its requests for critical water supplies had been rejected or left unanswered, warning that the combination of water deprivation and poor living conditions creates an environment ripe for disease spread.
The organization called on Israel to restore water access in Gaza immediately and urged Israel's allies to pressure the country to allow humanitarian access.
The extensive destruction of civilian water infrastructure in Gaza, coupled with obstruction of access, constitutes "an integral part of Israel's genocide," according to the medical charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF.
In a report titled "Water as a Weapon," MSF said that the "engineered scarcity" was occurring alongside "direct killing of civilians, the devastation of health facilities, (and) the destruction of homes".
Together, this amounted to "the deliberate infliction of destructive and inhumane conditions of life on the Palestinian population in Gaza," warned the report, based on testimonies and data MSF collected in 2024 and 2025.
The charity accused Israeli authorities of knowing that without water, life ends, yet deliberately destroying water infrastructure and blocking supplies from entering Gaza.
Despite a ceasefire in October following the 2023 war, daily violence persists as Israeli strikes continue, with both sides accusing each other of breaking the truce.
According to MSF, data from the United Nations, European Union, and World Bank indicate that nearly 90 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged.
The charity documented incidents where its clearly identified water trucks and boreholes were shot at or destroyed.
It provided more than 5.3 million liters of water each day last month, enough for over 407,000 people, but Israeli military displacement orders have prevented it from accessing areas it previously served.
MSF also stated that a third of its requests for critical water supplies had been rejected or left unanswered, warning that the combination of water deprivation and poor living conditions creates an environment ripe for disease spread.
The organization called on Israel to restore water access in Gaza immediately and urged Israel's allies to pressure the country to allow humanitarian access.
