OXFAM IRELAND HAS said Israel is “weaponizing water” as a new report shows water supply in Gaza has dropped by 94% to around five litres a day per person.

The Oxfam report, titled Water War Crimes, said that the destruction of water and electricity infrastructure, as well as restrictions on the entry of spare parts and fuel, has resulted in water production in Gaza plummeting by 84%.

Oxfam said that as of 3 June, Israel had on average damaged or destroyed five water and sanitation infrastructure sites every three days since the start of the conflict on 7 October.

This has resulted in the destruction of 70% of all sewage pumps and 100% of all wastewater treatment plants, as well as the main water quality testing laboratories in Gaza.

The Oxfam report added that Gaza City has “lost nearly all its water production capacity, with 88% of its water wells and 100% of its desalination plants damaged or destroyed”.

It also found that external supply from Israel’s national water company, Mekorot, fell by 78%.

In all, Oxfam found that the amount of water available in Gaza has dropped by 94% to 4.74 litres a day per person – just under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies and less than a single toilet flush.   

Palestinians line up to fill containers with water on a street next to tents in Al-Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip, on 6 July, 2024 Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Oxfam Ireland CEO Jim Clarken said Israel has already used “starvation as a weapon of war” and added that “we are now witnessing its weaponizing of water, which is already having deadly consequences”.

Gazans this week told a reporter from The Journal that they are eating mulberry leaves to stave off hunger.

The Oxfam report also highlighted the impact this lack of clean water and sanitation is having on the health of people in Gaza, with more than a quarter (26%) of Gaza’s population falling severely ill from easily preventable diseases.  

Oxfam said this figure is based on an analysis of World Health Organisation data.

Oxfam added that it has “witnessed firsthand Israel’s obstruction of a meaningful humanitarian response, which is killing Palestinian civilians”.  

Oxfam Water and Sanitation Specialist Lama Abdul Samad remarked that the “deliberate restriction of access to water is not a new tactic” and that the Israeli Government “has been depriving Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza of safe and sufficient water for many years”.

Meanwhile, Monther Shoblak, General Manager of the Gaza Strip’s water utility CMWU, said staff have been “living through a nightmare these past nine months”.

“We still feel it’s our responsibility and duty to ensure everybody in Gaza is getting their minimum right of clean drinking water,” said Shoblak.

It’s been very difficult, but we are determined to keep trying – even when we witness our colleagues being targeted and killed by Israel while undertaking their work.

Oxfam has called for a permanent ceasefire and for Israel to “foot the reconstruction bill for water and sanitation infrastructure”.