Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has accused Israel of using access to water as a weapon against Palestinians during the Gaza genocide.
In a report published on Tuesday, the medical charity said Israel is systematically depriving the besieged enclave of water, describing it as a “campaign of collective punishment”.
“Deliberately denying Palestinians access to water is an integral part of Israel’s genocide,” it said.
The report adds that water shortages have been deliberately imposed alongside ongoing displacement, destruction and killings, including the targeting of people attempting to fetch water.
Titled Water as a Weapon: Israel’s Destruction and Deprivation of Water and Sanitation in Gaza, the report is based on medical data, testimonies and field interviews.
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In one case, Hanan, a Palestinian woman in Gaza City, said her grandson was shot while trying to fetch drinking water in July.
“He was standing in line with other kids, and [Israeli forces] killed him. He was 10 years old. Getting water is not supposed to be dangerous,” she said.
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According to Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency manager, Israeli authorities “know that without water life ends, yet they have deliberately and systematically obliterated water infrastructure in Gaza – while consistently blocking water-related supplies from entering”.
Nearly 90 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure in the enclave has been damaged or completely destroyed in Israeli attacks since October 2023.
Amid the shortages, residents face daily obstacles to accessing water, including distant and unsafe collection points, irregular supply, physically demanding conditions, unaffordable prices and restrictions on the entry of essential materials.
The report also highlights Israeli troops launching direct attacks on clearly identified water trucks and boreholes.
“This deprivation, combined with dire living conditions, extreme overcrowding, and a collapsed health system, create a perfect storm for the spread of diseases,” Filippo said.
Intensifying attacks
As the humanitarian crisis deepens, Israeli forces continue to carry out strikes, shootings and artillery shelling across Gaza, in violation of the October ceasefire.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces killed five people, including two children, in air strikes on Gaza City and Khan Younis.
One of the children was identified as nine-year-old Adel Lafi al-Najjar, who was killed in a strike in central Khan Younis.
According to eyewitness accounts, the attack was in the vicinity of Abu Hamid roundabout, an area that is supposed to be outside the army’s deployment lines.
At least four Palestinians were killed in Gaza City on Tuesday when Israeli forces targeted a vehicle.
According to local officials, Israel has killed over 800 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect in October pic.twitter.com/lbw3LxLE3P
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) April 29, 2026
Four others were killed when forces struck a vehicle near Haider roundabout, west of Gaza City.
Earlier, the Civil Defence reported that a nine-year-old child was killed in an Israeli bombing that targeted an area east of Khan Yunis city, south of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have killed more than 820 Palestinians since the start of the ceasefire, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Overall, Israeli forces have killed nearly 72,600 people since the genocide began.
