UN accuses Israeli occupation of depriving civilians of water sccess

CAIRO - 23 June 2025: The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to deepen, with children dying from hunger and thirst amid a total blockade. The United Nations has confirmed that the Israeli occupation is deliberately depriving Gaza residents of water and essential aid, leading to the collapse of life-sustaining systems.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that Gaza is experiencing a man-made drought as its water infrastructure—especially drinking water facilities—collapses under the strain of the ongoing blockade. UNICEF emphasized that children will die of thirst unless fuel deliveries, necessary to operate water systems, are immediately resumed.

UNICEF spokesperson James Elder revealed that no fuel has entered Gaza for over 100 days, due to Israel's severe restrictions on the limited humanitarian aid allowed into the strip. As a result, only 40% of Gaza’s drinking water facilities are still functioning. Elder warned that without fuel, all water production facilities would shut down within weeks. He further explained that diseases are already spreading rapidly, and chaos is escalating.

Since Gaza's power supply was cut, fuel has been essential to sustain the crippled healthcare system, powering generators used for oxygen production, life-support machines, neonatal incubators, and ambulance operations.

Elder stated: “Blocking fuel doesn’t just halt supplies—it destroys the means for survival.”

He stressed that the water crisis and rising malnutrition among children are man-made emergencies, directly resulting from the Israeli occupation’s policies. These twin crises, he noted, are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.

“This is an extremely tragic situation—a near-total siege. Humanitarian aid is marginalized. The daily killing of girls and boys in Gaza goes unnoticed. And now, a deliberate fuel crisis is cutting off the most essential element for survival—water.”

The spokesperson also described the actions of what he called the "Gaza Humanitarian Structure" as exacerbating the suffering. He said people are forced to remain confined in tiny pockets of land, where most civilians cannot even access aid distribution points officially designated as "conflict zones." He reported multiple incidents of mass casualties near these sites when they were shut down.

Meanwhile, Edward Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, reported that from January through May 2025, a total of 16,736 children—an average of 112 children per day—were admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition in Gaza.

“Every single one of these cases could have been prevented,” he said. “Children are being denied food, water, and critical therapeutic care. These are man-made decisions, and they are costing lives.”

The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, with dire warnings from global health and humanitarian organizations demanding immediate international action to restore fuel deliveries, enable humanitarian access, and save civilian lives.