Gaza: 'Water as a Weapon' – Israel Intentionally Cuts Off Water as Collective Punishment – Immediate Restoration of Water Access Demanded
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports that Israel is using water as a weapon in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, intentionally depriving Palestinians of water as part of collective punishment. MSF demands that Israeli authorities immediately restore the necessary water supply to Gaza residents and calls on Israel's allies to exert influence to stop acts obstructing humanitarian aid, including water infrastructure.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 29, 2026 at 02:24
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 18:02
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 18:05 (3 min after Collected)
Gaza North, people fetching water next to destroyed buildings = February 3, 2025 © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Israeli authorities are using water as a weapon in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, deliberately depriving Palestinians of water as part of collective punishment. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on Israeli authorities to immediately restore the necessary water supply to Gaza residents and urges Israel's allies to exert influence to stop acts that obstruct access to humanitarian aid, including water infrastructure.
**Cutting off water is part of genocide**
Intentionally cutting off water supply to Palestinians is part of Israel's genocide (collective killing). MSF has published a report titled 'Water as a Weapon: Israel's Destruction and Deprivation of Water and Sanitation in Gaza' (English), asserting that Israeli authorities' use of water as a weapon is not temporary but systematically repeated. The water blockade occurs simultaneously with the killing of civilians, the destruction of medical facilities, and the displacement of people due to the destruction of many homes. The report states that Israeli authorities are intentionally imposing destructive and inhumane conditions on Palestinians in Gaza.
Claire San Filippo, MSF's emergency response manager, states:
"Israeli authorities know that without water, lives will be lost. Nevertheless, they are intentionally and systematically destroying Gaza's water infrastructure and continue to obstruct the entry of water-related supplies.
Palestinians are being injured and killed just for seeking water. This water shortage, combined with harsh living conditions, extreme overcrowding, and a collapsed healthcare system, creates the worst possible environment for the spread of diseases."
**Lives lost at water points**
Israel has destroyed or damaged nearly 90% of Gaza's water and sanitation infrastructure, including desalination plants, wells, pipelines, and sewage systems. MSF has also witnessed the Israeli military firing at trucks clearly marked as water tankers and destroying wells that were lifelines for tens of thousands of people. Violence frequently occurs during water collection, with Palestinians and aid workers being injured and equipment damaged.
Hanan, a woman from Gaza City, says:
"My grandson was killed by them (the Israeli military) last July in Nuseirat while queuing with other children to fetch drinking water. He was only 10 years old. Fetching water shouldn't be dangerous."
As a result of the accumulated water shortages created by Israeli authorities, it has become impossible to provide sufficient water to everyone. MSF is the largest producer and main supplier of drinking water in Gaza after local authorities. However, between May and November 2025, one in five water distribution activities ran out of water midway, making it impossible to deliver enough water to all those in need.
Furthermore, due to evacuation orders by the Israeli military, MSF has been unable to access areas where it previously supplied water to hundreds of thousands of people. Essential services for survival have been halted, and critical infrastructure that sustained lives has been lost.
Child in Gaza carrying water in a container = March 10, 2025 © MSF
**Restriction of water and sanitation supplies**
Israeli authorities are also obstructing the entry of water and sanitation-related supplies. Since October 2023, the supply of essential items for water treatment and distribution, such as electricity, fuel, generators and their spare parts, and engine oil, has been blocked or severely restricted. One-third of requests for critical water and sanitation supplies have been rejected or left unanswered. These supplies include desalination units, pumps, chlorine and other chemicals for water treatment, storage tanks, insecticides, and toilets. Many items approved by Israeli authorities were subsequently denied entry at checkpoints.
Ali, displaced in a camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, says:
"We need water. It's utterly unreasonable. It feels like we're begging the world for what we need to live."
Lack of access to water severely impacts people's health, hygiene, and dignity, especially for women and people with disabilities. Access to basic hygiene items such as clean water, soap, diapers, and sanitary pads has become extremely difficult. People are forced to dig holes in the sand as makeshift toilets, which results in overflowing holes and contamination of the surrounding area and groundwater with excrement.
In addition to the lack of access to water and sanitation facilities,
Israeli authorities are using water as a weapon in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, deliberately depriving Palestinians of water as part of collective punishment. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on Israeli authorities to immediately restore the necessary water supply to Gaza residents and urges Israel's allies to exert influence to stop acts that obstruct access to humanitarian aid, including water infrastructure.
**Cutting off water is part of genocide**
Intentionally cutting off water supply to Palestinians is part of Israel's genocide (collective killing). MSF has published a report titled 'Water as a Weapon: Israel's Destruction and Deprivation of Water and Sanitation in Gaza' (English), asserting that Israeli authorities' use of water as a weapon is not temporary but systematically repeated. The water blockade occurs simultaneously with the killing of civilians, the destruction of medical facilities, and the displacement of people due to the destruction of many homes. The report states that Israeli authorities are intentionally imposing destructive and inhumane conditions on Palestinians in Gaza.
Claire San Filippo, MSF's emergency response manager, states:
"Israeli authorities know that without water, lives will be lost. Nevertheless, they are intentionally and systematically destroying Gaza's water infrastructure and continue to obstruct the entry of water-related supplies.
Palestinians are being injured and killed just for seeking water. This water shortage, combined with harsh living conditions, extreme overcrowding, and a collapsed healthcare system, creates the worst possible environment for the spread of diseases."
**Lives lost at water points**
Israel has destroyed or damaged nearly 90% of Gaza's water and sanitation infrastructure, including desalination plants, wells, pipelines, and sewage systems. MSF has also witnessed the Israeli military firing at trucks clearly marked as water tankers and destroying wells that were lifelines for tens of thousands of people. Violence frequently occurs during water collection, with Palestinians and aid workers being injured and equipment damaged.
Hanan, a woman from Gaza City, says:
"My grandson was killed by them (the Israeli military) last July in Nuseirat while queuing with other children to fetch drinking water. He was only 10 years old. Fetching water shouldn't be dangerous."
As a result of the accumulated water shortages created by Israeli authorities, it has become impossible to provide sufficient water to everyone. MSF is the largest producer and main supplier of drinking water in Gaza after local authorities. However, between May and November 2025, one in five water distribution activities ran out of water midway, making it impossible to deliver enough water to all those in need.
Furthermore, due to evacuation orders by the Israeli military, MSF has been unable to access areas where it previously supplied water to hundreds of thousands of people. Essential services for survival have been halted, and critical infrastructure that sustained lives has been lost.
Child in Gaza carrying water in a container = March 10, 2025 © MSF
**Restriction of water and sanitation supplies**
Israeli authorities are also obstructing the entry of water and sanitation-related supplies. Since October 2023, the supply of essential items for water treatment and distribution, such as electricity, fuel, generators and their spare parts, and engine oil, has been blocked or severely restricted. One-third of requests for critical water and sanitation supplies have been rejected or left unanswered. These supplies include desalination units, pumps, chlorine and other chemicals for water treatment, storage tanks, insecticides, and toilets. Many items approved by Israeli authorities were subsequently denied entry at checkpoints.
Ali, displaced in a camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, says:
"We need water. It's utterly unreasonable. It feels like we're begging the world for what we need to live."
Lack of access to water severely impacts people's health, hygiene, and dignity, especially for women and people with disabilities. Access to basic hygiene items such as clean water, soap, diapers, and sanitary pads has become extremely difficult. People are forced to dig holes in the sand as makeshift toilets, which results in overflowing holes and contamination of the surrounding area and groundwater with excrement.
In addition to the lack of access to water and sanitation facilities,