This report presents a detailed analysis of how the Government of Israel has systematically weaponized water against the Palestinians in its latest assault on Gaza, raising grave concerns of human rights violations and breaches of international law. It highlights ongoing violations of international laws, showing how the Government of Israel has used water deprivation to dehumanize and ultimately threaten Palestinian lives since the 1993 Oslo Accords. This culminates, in a brutal fashion, in the current military operation in Gaza.
The UN Commission of Inquiry finds that Israel’s military operations and civilian policies relating to water in Gaza, following the attacks by Palestinian armed groups on Israel on 7 October 2023, are indiscriminate and disproportionate. The ‘total siege’ which the Government of Israel is using to collectively punish the entire civilian population in Gaza, including restrictions on water, electricity, fuel deliveries and the entry of essential supplies, has compounded the suffering of a population that is now on the brink of famine. The Israeli military’s continuous and extensive bombardment, which has destroyed key roads and essential civilian infrastructure, has further debilitated humanitarian efforts, leaving the population in dire conditions.
Oxfam’s own analysis reveals that:
- Since the Israeli offensive began following 7 October 2023, people in Gaza have had only 4.74 liters of water per person per day for all uses including drinking, cooking, and washing, which is a dramatic 94% reduction in the amount of water available before. This is significantly below the internationally accepted minimum standard of 15 liters of water per person per day for basic survival in emergencies.
- Since the start of the blockade in 2007, the Government of Israel has severely tightened restrictions on movement and access. In addition to the total siege imposed on Gaza on 9 October 2023, it means that entry of critical water and sanitation supplies is at times indefinitely delayed. It has taken Oxfam several months to receive Israeli ‘pre-clearance' for 3 desalination units and pipes needed for repairing damaged infrastructure, but this does not guarantee entry. To date, these supplies have not entered Gaza. ‘Pre-clearance’ for 3 other desalination units and spare parts remains pending.
- Water supplied via the three Israeli Mekorot lines have been providing water to Gaza at only 22% of total supply capacity; from October 2023 to May 2024, the lines supplying Khan Younis and Gaza City were completely cut for 81% and 95% of the time, respectively.
- By 26 May 2024, water production from sources within the whole Gaza Strip had reduced by 84% due to destruction of water infrastructure and restrictions on fuel, electricity, and water and sanitation spare parts entering Gaza.
- By 3 June 2024, five water and sanitation infrastructures had been taken out of service every three days (1% per three days) by the bombardment.
- By 3 June 2024, Gaza City had lost nearly all its water production capacity, with 88% of its water wells, 100% of its brackish water desalination plants and 100% of its seawater desalination plants damaged or destroyed and put out of service.
- The Israeli military has destroyed the two main water quality testing laboratories (the first in November 2023 and the second on 21 March 2024) inside Gaza and restricted the entry of Oxfam water testing equipment.
- By 3 June 2024, the Israeli military had destroyed 100% of all water and sanitation warehouses in Gaza City and Khan Younis.
- By 3 June 2024, the Israeli military had destroyed 70% of all sewage pumps and by 26 June 2024, 100% of all wastewater treatment plants in Gaza.
- In the event that a million people seek shelter from bombardment in the Israeli-designated ‘Al Mawasi safe zone’, the area could become the most densely populated in the world with the potential to provide a mere 2.48 liters per person per day.