GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli fire has killed more than 700 Palestinians, the majority of them children, while they were attempting to collect water in Gaza since October 2023, Gaza’s Government Media Office said on Monday.
In a statement, the media office accused the Israeli army of waging a “systematic and deliberate war of thirst” against Palestinians in Gaza, describing it as a “flagrant violation of all international and humanitarian conventions.”
The office said the Israeli military had carried out 112 attacks targeting people fetching water, amounting to what it called “massacres,” and claimed over 720 water wells had been deliberately destroyed.
The destruction has left more than 1.25 million people without access to clean water, the media office stated.
On Sunday, at least 12 people, including eight children, were reportedly killed by Israeli fire while waiting at a water distribution point in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
“These attacks constitute a full-fledged war crime under the Geneva Conventions,” the media office said, urging international human rights organisations to intervene and ensure the delivery of fuel and equipment needed to restore Gaza’s devastated water and sewage networks.
According to the statement, Israel has prevented the monthly entry of 12 million litres of fuel — the minimum required to operate vital infrastructure including water wells, sewage plants, and waste management services.
This fuel blockade, the office said, has resulted in “complete paralysis” of essential networks and triggered the spread of disease, especially among children.
The crisis has intensified since March 2, when Israel shut down all crossings into Gaza, halting the entry of food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid.
The blockade, now in its fourth month, has driven the enclave’s 2.4 million residents into what aid agencies have described as famine conditions.
Last weekend, Israeli strikes and shelling intensified across Gaza, resulting in mass casualties, including among children, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
On Sunday, seven children were reportedly killed while collecting water in Nuseirat. Days earlier, several women and children were killed while waiting for nutrition supplies.
UNICEF described the situation as “an outrage,” stressing that “no one, including children, should risk their life to get food, water or any other aid.”
The agency called on Israel to urgently review its rules of engagement and comply with international humanitarian law.
Gaza’s health system continues to reel under pressure. The Ministry of Health reported that another doctor, a surgeon and endoscopy specialist, was killed in the last 24 hours.
Hospitals, despite being on the brink of collapse, remain overwhelmed with mass casualty cases.
In a joint statement on Saturday, UN agencies warned that fuel supplies in Gaza had reached critical lows.
Without adequate fuel, agencies said, life-saving operations would be forced to cease, meaning “no health services, no clean water, and no aid delivery.”
UNICEF also reported a sharp rise in malnutrition, with over 5,800 children diagnosed last month alone, including more than 1,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition, marking the fourth consecutive month of increase.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have continued issuing displacement orders. On Friday, the Rimal area of Gaza City, housing around 70,000 displaced Palestinians, was targeted.
According to OCHA, over 86 percent of Gaza is now either under evacuation orders or lies within militarised zones.
