Ammon News - International aid group Doctors Without Borders accused Israel of “systemically depriving” people in Gaza of water in what it calls a “campaign of collective punishment” against Palestinians.

Known by its French acronym MSF, the group said in a report Tuesday that Israel has destroyed or damaged about 90% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure including desalination plants, boreholes, pipelines and sewage systems.

MSF said it also documented the Israeli military shooting at clearly identified water trucks and destroying boreholes that were a lifeline for tens of thousands of people.

The practices have far-reaching consequences for the health, hygiene and dignity of Gaza’s 2.1 million people, MSF said.

“Israeli authorities know that without water life ends, yet they have deliberately and systematically obliterated water infrastructure in Gaza – while consistently blocking water-related supplies from entering,” MSF emergency manager Claire San Filippo said.

COGAT, Israel’s military body that coordinates aid to Gaza, rejected the accusations and said the water supply in the Gaza Strip “consistently exceeds humanitarian thresholds.”

AP