UN says Israel leaves 1M Gazans with reduced water for second day

Water crisis deepens in Gaza

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday that Israel has left approximately one million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with reduced water supplies for a second straight day, as humanitarian officials warned of deteriorating conditions across the occupied territories. Speaking at a news conference, Dujarric noted that OCHA colleagues remain deeply concerned over the safety and welfare of Palestinian civilians in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"For the second day, about one million people in Gaza who depend on the Israeli water grid were affected by reduced water supplies," he said, adding that "the distribution of water from other sources by truck only partly" offset the shortfall.

Fears of displacement and West Bank destruction

Responding to questions regarding remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on the future displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, Dujarric stressed that the UN was worried about the trajectory. "We speak about it every day in very clear terms, in terms of the continuing suffering of the Palestinian people, the lack of security for many Israeli civilians, as well," he said.

Dujarric noted that the UN "will still continue to push for a two-state solution, despite the fact that obviously the reality on the ground is what it is." He also reported that humanitarian officials are continuing to be very concerned by reports that the entire community of Khirbet at Tabban was destroyed by Israeli forces.

Masafer Yatta under pressure

The destroyed community is one of 13 herding communities in the Masafer Yatta area of Hebron that fall within land Israeli authorities have designated as "firing zones" for military training. Dujarric noted that "a dozen settler outposts have been established within the same area over the past two years," with occupiers' violence compounding pressure on residents to leave.

The occupied West Bank has witnessed continued escalation in Israeli military offensives and occupier attacks since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. The escalation has come alongside the expansion of illegal settlement outposts and tighter restrictions on Palestinian movement.