Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned on Tuesday that Israel is deliberately depriving the people of Gaza of access to life-saving water, condemning what it described as a campaign of “collective punishment” against Palestinians.
The organization stated that the widespread destruction of Gaza’s civilian water infrastructure, coupled with the obstruction of access to water, constitutes “an integral part of the genocide being perpetrated by Israel” in the Gaza Strip.
In its report, titled “Water as a Weapon,” MSF noted that this “engineered scarcity” of water is occurring in parallel with “the killing of civilians, the destruction of health facilities, and the demolition of homes.”
The report, based on testimonies and data collected by the organization between 2024 and 2025, warned that all of this “imposes devastating and inhumane living conditions on the Palestinian population in Gaza.”
“The Israeli authorities know that life ends without water,” said MSF’s Emergency Director, Claire San Filippo, in a statement. She added: “However, it has deliberately and systematically destroyed Gaza’s water infrastructure, while simultaneously continuing to prevent the entry of water-related supplies.” Despite the ceasefire that went into effect last October, the Strip continues to experience daily violence as Israeli strikes persist.
