Gaza's Water Crisis: Weapon or Neglect?

This analytical paper reads Gaza's water crisis through a rights-based and political lens, exposing the deliberate dimension in the destruction of water infrastructure and the use of thirst as a weapon of war.

Author

Omar Shaban Ismail

Date

2025-09-10

Key points

• The main water-treatment plant has been destroyed three times since 2008.
• Access to clean water has become a trade that burdens displaced families.
• The United Nations has documented the destruction of water infrastructure used as a weapon of war.

Recommendations

• Classify the destruction of water infrastructure as a war crime before the international courts.
• Inject emergency funding to rehabilitate the destroyed plants and wells.
• A binding international protocol to protect water facilities in conflict zones.