In Gaza, we see that water is now being used as weapon by the Israeli army, in its effort of ethnic cleansing. Intentionally damaging water infrastructure and denying Palestinians access to their water resources violate international humanitarian law, but it is common practice in Palestine for more than 58 years.
The Palestinian Gaza Strip and West Bank are occupied by Israel since 1967. With the military occupation of land also came the appropriation of the Palestinian natural water resources. The State of Israel formally took possession of the water resources of Gaza and the West Bank. A series of Military Orders were issued by the so-called Civil Administration (the governance structure of the Israeli army in the Occupied Territories), to restrict access and use of the water resources by the Palestinians; instead, the jewish settlements (which are illegal under international law) were given quasi-unlimited access to the Palestinian water resources. Palestinian-owned wells were damaged, agricultural land was confiscated, and pipelines were destroyed, thus denying Palestinians sufficient water for their development.
UNICEF reported that in 2019 and 2020, 95 military attacks took place against 142 WASH structures (94 in the West Bank, one in the Gaza Strip), affecting 67,349 people (Unicef, Water Under Fire Volume 3: Attacks on water and sanitation services in armed conflict and the impacts on children, 2021, p. 5).
This is illegal under international law, and it goes on like that for the last 58 years.
Since October 2023, water is more intensively used in Gaza as a method of warfare by the Israeli Army. Given the current degree of destruction of water infrastructure and the starvation of the population, it is clear that water is now weaponized to make Gaza unlivable for Palestinians, as part of the desire of ethnic cleansing of the Israeli government. It is a grave violation of the obligations of an occupying power under international law - and it happens on our watch.
- Already in 2024, Oxfam warned against the weaponization of water by the IDF in Gaza; read their report Water War Crimes: How Israel has weaponised water in its military campaign in Gaza.
- Thirst is being used as a weapon in Gaza, according to UN experts on food, safe drinking water and sanitation in a press release on 29 July 2025: "In its Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2024, the International Court of Justice confirmed Israel’s obligation, as the occupying power, to ensure that the local population has an adequate supply of foodstuffs, including water. However, Israel has reduced the amount of water allowed to enter the Gaza Strip, including emergency water deliveries, which has resulted in water shortages and rationing, forcing residents to rely on unsafe and contaminated water sources.".
- From the UN-OCHA Reported impact snapshot (30 July 2025):
- 82% (573 out of 696) of public water and sanitation facilities and assets are within the Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders since 18 March (as of 20 July 2025).
- 96% of households have experienced water insecurity, and 90% reported worsening levels of drinking water security in July 2025.
- 89% of the water and sanitation facilities sector assets have been either destroyed or partially damaged.
- Terrible thirst hits Gaza with polluted aquifers and broken pipelines (Reuters, 7 August 2025)
- On weaponizing water in armed conflicts and solutions for better protection of water infrastructure (and civilians): The imperative to protect water and water systems during armed conflict, by Tadesse Kebebew (Geneva Water Hub), in the Humanitarian Law and Policy blog of the ICRC (24 April 2025).
