Israel using water as 'weapon' in Gaza, rights group says

A human rights group has accused Israel of using water as a "weapon" in Gaza.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said Israel was purposely cutting the amount of water available to residents, adding that a genocide was taking place in the enclave.

"Through persistent, systematic, and widespread targeting of the Gaza Strip's water sources and desalination plants, Israel is using water as a weapon against Palestinian civilians," Euro-Med Monitor said in a press release.

"In addition to imposing famine, Israel is deliberately reducing the amount of water available to residents of the strip – especially potable water sources – intentionally targeting the over 2.3 million people who live there as part of its genocide, ongoing since last October."

Israel's war on Gaza, which began in October and has so far killed 38,095 people and injured 87,705 others, according to Gaza's health ministry. It has also devastated infrastructure in the Palestinian enclave.

Euro-Med Monitor said its field team on Monday saw "significant damage" to a desalination plant in Gaza City's Al-Zeitoun neighbourhood due to "direct Israeli targeting".

It led to the killing of a young man and the injuring of other people.

The station provided services to at least 50,000 people and suffered serious damage after a missile fired by Israeli forces broke through multiple stories and exploded on the ground floor.

Euro-Med Monitor said more than 700 wells and water desalination places have been destroyed since the war started.

As summer temperatures increase, Gaza's population is "facing significant challenges" in accessing water, the rights group said.

According to estimates, the per capita share of water in Gaza has plummeted by 97 percent because of Israel destroying water infrastructure.

All parts of Gaza are experiencing a lack of water and the sewage system is collapsing, Euro-Med Monitor said.

"The lack of drinking water in the Gaza Strip has become a matter of life and death, with residents currently being forced to drink unclean well water amid continued Israeli military attacks and lack of food, water, and fuel supplies," Euro-Med Monitor said.