Rafah municipality in the southern part of the Gaza Strip accused the Israeli army of brutality and violation of humanitarian standards after they bombed the drinking water reservoir of the Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood.
‘The explosion of the main water supply by the Israeli soldiers in Sept 2014 in Tal Al-Sultan is a criminal act against humanity and epitomizes the collective punishment policy,’ a Sustainable Rafah official, Mayor Ahmed Soufi, said in a statement.
This has increased anxiety about the severity of water scarcity in this region. The destruction of the water reservoir will magnify the crisis in the city; the parties that are interested in the conflict should interfere and put an end to the Israeli occupation’s abuse, the Mayor said.
The Israeli army has given in to the blame for blowing up the water reservoirs in Tal Al-Sultan. Their local daily newspapers, such as the Israeli daily Haaretz, also reported that an investigation had been opened into the matter.
Some of the soldiers even had a recorded a video of the explosion. They shared it on social media, writing ‘Sod Mizrahi: Destruction of the Tel Sultan water reservoir in honor of Shabbat,’ Haaretz reported. People had already shared on social networks a video showing the way an Israeli soldier planted a bomb at the outlet of the main water well in Tal Al-Sultan to follow the explosion.
Thus, local institutions, as well as municipalities in Gaza, have been blaming the Israeli military for deliberately attacking water facilities, wells, and desalination plants, which have worsened the situation with drinking water. Israel has also limited the fuel supply, affecting the functionality of the other desalination plants still in the region.
Contrary to the UN Security Council resolution to cease hostilities at once, Israel has continued an attack on Gaza since the October 7, 2023 strike by Hamas. Following that, the local authorities of health noted that over 39,360 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children, have been killed, and over 90,900 have been injured.
After almost nine and a half years of war on the side of Israel, calculated from the beginning of the cast lead operation in Gaza, whole districts of the territory of the strip are demolished, and the supply of food, nutrients, fresh water as well as medicine is prevented.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on 6 May.
