UN expert urges Israel to stop using water as ‘weapon of war’

GENEVA

Israel “must stop using water as a weapon of war” and allow clean water and fuel into Gaza to activate the water supply network before it is “too late,” a UN expert said on Friday.

"Every hour that passes with Israel preventing the provision of safe drinking water in the Gaza strip, in brazen breach of international law, puts Gazans at risk of dying of thirst and diseases related to the lack of safe drinking water," Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, said in a statement.

“I want to remind Israel that consciously preventing supplies needed for safe water from entering the Gaza Strip violates both international humanitarian and human rights law,” Arrojo-Agudo said, adding that the impact on public health and hygiene will be "unimaginable."

It could result in more civilian deaths than the already colossal death toll from the bombardment of Gaza, he warned.

He stressed that children will be the first affected by the water and sanitation crisis, especially those under five years old – and then women.

"These frequently invisible casualties of war are preventable, and Israel must prevent them," he said.

Since Israel started bombarding Gaza on Oct. 7, at least 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,800 women and children, and more than 29,200 others have been injured, according to latest figures.


Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

An Israeli blockade has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity and water supplies, and reduced aid deliveries to a small trickle.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.