Israel accused of killing Palestinians by denying water, as Gaza bombing continues

Warning: Graphic content.

Cairo: While US and Arab mediators work around the clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, medics say Israeli strikes have killed 44 Palestinians in 24 hours.

The mediators, at talks in Egypt and Qatar, are trying to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on October 7, 2023, along with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Displaced Palestinians line up to collect water, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, in August.Credit: AP

Mediators had managed to narrow some gaps on previous sticking points, but differences remained, sources close to the talks said.

In Gaza, medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes, including on two houses in Gaza City and a central camp. They said the airstrike killed nine people near Beach refugee camp in Gaza City, while another killed four others at a housing project near Beit Lahiya in the north. There was no Israeli comment.

Later, airstrikes killed at least 15 Palestinians in two shelters housing displaced families in eastern Gaza City’s suburb of Tuffah, medics said.

Another Israeli airstrike killed at least three people after targeting a residential house in the Sabra suburb of Gaza City, medics said, bringing Thursday’s death toll to 44.

A Palestinian child wounded during the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip receives treatment at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah on Thursday,Credit: AP

The Israeli military said it struck Hamas militants operating in command and control complexes in areas that were previously used as the Al-Karama and Sha’ban Schools in Tuffah. It said Hamas used the complexes to plan and execute attacks against its forces.

Residents of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, where the army has operated since October, said forces blew up clusters of houses overnight.

“The longer those talks last, the more destruction and death takes place in Gaza. Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya are being wiped out, Rafah too,” said Adel, 60, a resident of Jabalia, who is now displaced in Gaza City.

People look at smoke from airstrikes in the Gaza Strip as seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border in Nir Am.Credit: Getty Images

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch published a report saying Israel had killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water, which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.

The rights group was the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza, which Israel vehemently denies.

HRW alleged that countless infants, children and adults have died from malnutrition, dehydration and illness as a result of actions by Israeli authorities over more than a year of war to deliberately cut the flow of water and electricity to Gaza, destroy infrastructure and prevent the distribution of critical supplies.

That had drastically reduced the water supply in Gaza, from about 83 litres per person each day before the war began to between two and nine litres in the months since it said.

The World Health Organisation says people require 50 to 100 litres per day to meet basic needs and keep sickness in check.

HRW said Israeli forces had deliberately razed the solar panels powering four of Gaza’s six wastewater treatment plants and destroyed a key reservoir. The group alleges Israel also cut off electricity required to run desalination plants and other infrastructure, and restricted fuel for backup generators.

A displaced child carries filled water bottles at a makeshift tent camp in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip.Credit: AP

Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the rights group of lying, saying Israel had facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza since the start of the war despite constant attacks by Hamas.“Human Rights Watch is once more spreading its blood libels in order to promote its anti-Israel propaganda,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said.

A report published by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) also on Thursday said there were clear signs of ethnic cleansing in Israel’s offensive as Palestinians were forcibly displaced and bombed.

“The signs of ethnic cleansing and the ongoing devastation – including mass killings, severe physical and mental health injuries, forced displacement, and impossible conditions of life for Palestinians under siege and bombardment – are undeniable,” the aid group’s head, Christopher Lockyear, said in the report.

“Palestinians have been killed in their homes and in hospital beds ... People cannot find even the most basic necessities like food, clean water, medicines, and soap amid a punishing siege and blockade,” MSF said.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the MSF report, but Israel has previously denied carrying out ethnic cleansing and says its campaign aims to wipe out Hamas and prevent it from regrouping.

Israel accuses the militant group of exploiting civilian infrastructure and the population as a human shield. Hamas denies this.

Phased or comprehensive?

Sources close to the mediation efforts said Hamas had pushed for one overall package deal, but Israel wanted a phased one. Talks are focused on a first-phase release of hostages, dead or alive, as well as a number of Palestinians jailed by Israel.

On Tuesday, the sides discussed the numbers and categories of those to be released, but things have yet to be finalised, said a source who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the talks.

The source said one issue was Israel’s demand to retain the right to act against any possible military threat from Gaza and the stationing of Israeli forces during phases of the deal.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action after defeating Hamas.

Israel started its air and ground assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities in October 2023, killing 1200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.

Its campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced 90 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.

Reuters, AP

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.