In response to Israel cutting off the electricity supply to a desalination plant for drinking water in the occupied Gaza Strip a week after it blocked the entry of vital humanitarian aid to the Strip, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas said:
“Israel’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza’s main operational desalination plant, a week after it halted the entry of all humanitarian aid and commercial supplies, including fuel and food, violates international humanitarian law and is further evidence of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.
These inhumane and unlawful actions are a clear indication that Israel is continuing its policy of deliberately imposing on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction – an act prohibited under the Genocide Convention.
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns
“These inhumane and unlawful actions are a clear indication that Israel is continuing its policy of deliberately imposing on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction – an act prohibited under the Genocide Convention. They are also a reminder of the control Israel has as occupying power, allowing it to turn life-critical services on and off at any given point.
“Gaza has been under an electricity blackout since 11 October 2023, following the decision of then-energy Minister Israel Katz to cut off electricity supply through the Israeli Electric Corporation, which is paid for by the Palestinian Authority. This forced Gaza’s only power plant to shut down. On 14 November 2024, the South Sea desalination plant became the only facility in Gaza to be reconnected to Israel’s electricity grid. The decision to disconnect it again now will reduce its capacity to produce drinking water by 85%, – from 18,000 cubic metres of drinking water per day to just 3,000 – which will have devastating consequences for civilians in central and southern Gaza.
“The Gaza Strip is already experiencing a water and sanitation catastrophe following overwhelming damage and destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure due to Israel’s military operations and the ongoing unlawful blockade. The complete blocking of fuel supplies also threatens to shut down other water facilities, including wells.
Israel must not be allowed to use water as a weapon of war. Fuel, food, shelter and other supplies critical to the survival of the civilian population are a matter of life and death, not a means to exert pressure in negotiations.
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns
“Israel must not be allowed to use water as a weapon of war. Fuel, food, shelter and other supplies critical to the survival of the civilian population are a matter of life and death, not a means to exert pressure in negotiations.
“Israeli authorities must immediately and fully restore Gaza’s electricity supply – not only to the desalination plant – and allow civilians unfettered access to essential goods and services. As the occupying power, Israel has a legal obligation under international humanitarian law, to the fullest extent of the means available to it, to ensure the provision of food, medicine and other supplies essential to the survival of civilians in Gaza.”
Header image by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images.
