In the span of four days this month, the Israeli army is accused in an investigation by The Guardian published this Monday, April 27, of killing in Gaza a hydraulic engineer and two drivers transporting water to the population. These three deaths come amid chronic difficulties accessing water after years of war and maintaining controls at the borders.
The people of Gaza struggle to access clean water, and the ceasefire does not improve their situation. In an investigation published by The Guardian on Monday, April 27, the British newspaper accuses the Israeli army of killing, “within four days,” three individuals working in the water supply sector for the Palestinian population.
A hydraulic engineer was killed in a strike on the area of al-Zein, northern Gaza, while he was working on a maintenance operation. According to an incident report consulted by The Guardian, the attack resulted in one death, four injuries, and caused significant structural damage to “an essential water source for the surrounding population.”
On Friday, April 17, two truck drivers employed by UNICEF were killed by the IDF while they were at a distribution point in Mansoura, northern Gaza. “The Mansoura site is currently the only truck refueling point in operation on the Mekorot water supply network serving the city of Gaza,” UNICEF recalled in a statement condemning these acts.
“Humanitarian workers, essential service providers, and civilian infrastructure, including vital water facilities, must in no way be targeted. The protection of civilians and those providing vital assistance is an obligation under international humanitarian law,” added the United Nations Children’s Fund.
A catastrophic health situation
Almost the entire population of Gaza has been displaced by Israeli evacuation orders and airstrikes during the war against Hamas, triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist group in Israel in October 2023.
According to the United Nations, 1.7 million residents of the Palestinian territory out of a total of over two million still live in camps, unable to return home, or in areas under Israeli military control, despite the fragile ceasefire in effect since October 2025.
In these facilities, “living conditions are characterized by vermin and parasite infestations,” stated the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) after field visits in March.
“Targeted attacks”
Israeli strikes have caused devastating damage to water supply networks during the 2.5 years of war.
“Since the beginning of the war, we have lost around 19 water services employees who were carrying out repair and distribution work,” said Omar Shatat, deputy director of the coastal municipalities water service in Gaza to the British newspaper. “Targeted attacks are now part of the operational reality.”
According to UNICEF data, Gazans have daily access to about seven liters of clean water, with most residents barely reaching six liters. Water for non-drinking household use averages around 16 liters per day. The United Nations estimates that the standard amount of water each person should have access to is between 50 and 100 liters per day.
Laureline Lasserre, emergency humanitarian affairs manager for Gaza at Doctors Without Borders, told The Guardian that this situation is leading to illnesses.
“No clean water, no soap, overcrowded living conditions: this is the underlying cause of a large portion of the cases we treat every day. Many Palestinians have to choose daily between drinking, cooking, and washing.”
Contacted by BFMTV, the Israeli army communications office referred us to Cogat, the body of the Israeli Ministry of Defense responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories. Contacted, the organization has not yet responded to our inquiries.
