Gaza's water supplies have been largely wiped out as a result of Israel's post-October 7 assault on the enclave, according to new analysis from Oxfam.
The charity said the amount of water available in Gaza dropped by 94 per cent between Hamas' incursion into southern Israel and 26 May, due to Israel cutting off external supply, destroying water infrastructure and facilities, and obstructing aid.
Each person in the enclave reportedly now has just 4.74 litres of water per day — the equivalent of less than a single toilet flush — for everything, including drinking, cooking, washing, and cleaning.
The internationally accepted minimum standard for basic survival in emergencies is 15 litres of water per person per day, Oxfam said.
Each person in the enclave reportedly now has just 4.74 litres of water per day Source: SBS News
At the same time, water production in Gaza dropped by 84 per cent due to the destruction of infrastructure and Israel's restrictions on electricity, fuel, water and sanitation spare parts entering the enclave, Oxfam said.
Gaza City had lost almost all of its water production capacity by 3 June, with 88 per cent of its water wells and all of its brackish water and seawater desalination plants put out of service as a result of damage or destruction.
Oxfam also found that, between October and June, Israeli military attacks damaged or destroyed five water and sanitation infrastructure sites every three days.
Around 70 per cent of Gaza's sewage pumps and all of its wastewater treatment plants were destroyed by Israel's military by June, the charity said.
In Gaza City and Khan Younis, all water and sanitation warehouses were destroyed, it added.
The lack of clean water and sanitation has led to one in four (26 per cent) Gaza residents becoming sick with easily preventable diseases, Oxfam's analysis of data from the World Health Organization found.
"We are witnessing its weaponising of water, which is already having deadly consequences," Oxfam water and sanitation specialist Lama Abdul Samad said.
"But the deliberate restriction of access to water is not a new tactic. The Israeli government has been depriving Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza of safe and sufficient water for many years.
"The widespread destruction and significant restrictions on aid delivery in Gaza impacting access to water and other essentials for survival, underscores the urgent need for the international community to take decisive action to prevent further suffering by upholding justice and human rights, including those enshrined in the Geneva and Genocide Conventions."
Many people in Gaza rely on tankers for their water. Source: Getty / Eyad Baba/AFP
Oxfam said that, since that ruling, it had witnessed firsthand Israel's obstruction of "a meaningful humanitarian response, which is killing Palestinian civilians".
Earlier this month, it said that it would connect a power line to a United Nations-managed desalination plant in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Drinking water production would increase fourfold to 20,000 cubic metres per day as a result, a statement by the Israeli military and COGAT, the agency for civilian coordination with the Palestinians, said.
"The increase in supply of water is a further step taken to support humanitarian efforts for Gazan residents, and to prevent contamination and outbreaks of disease during the summer months," the statement said.
In March, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said accusations that Israel was restricting food and water deliveries into Gaza were a "false, outrageous accusation".
Israel in May "continue its efforts to enable humanitarian assistance and will act, in full compliance with the law, to reduce as much as possible harm caused to the civilian population in Gaza".
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.
More than 38,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the
