UN Asks Israel To Stop Using Water As “Weapon Of War”

 

Amidst the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists, the United Nations, an intergovernmental agency, has ordered Israel to cease using water as a “weapon of war.” UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation Pedro Arrojo-Agudo has issued a warning to Israel, stating that it must permit fuel and clean water supplies to reach the Gaza Strip.

The UN’s special rapporteur on the human right to clean drinking water and sanitation urged the Israeli authorities to allow clean water into Gaza “before it is too late” amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo called on Israeli authorities to stop using water as a “weapon of war” and stated that intentionally depriving civilians of their right to water was a crime against humanity.

The UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said that Gaza was suffering greatly from a water shortage. In the Gaza Strip, women and children suffer because of the total collapse of sanitation facilities, sewage-management systems, and water sources.

Women and children, particularly those under five, are suffering from a shortage of water. About 70% of Gazans, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), consume tainted or salted water in order to survive. They have water-borne infections and are dehydrated.