Flooding Hamas tunnels with seawater risks ‘ruining basic life in Gaza’, says expert

Dec 23, 2021

A potential plan by Israel to flood the Hamas tunnel network with seawater risks “ruining the basic conditions for life in Gaza”, one of the elements of the crime of genocide, a senior hydrologist has told the Guardian.

Environmental experts have warned the strategy – which Israel has yet to commit to – risks causing an ecological catastrophe that will leave Gaza with no drinkable water and devastate what little agriculture is possible in the 141 sq mile territory.

The UN special rapporteur for the right to water, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, compared it to the legend of Romans’ salting of the fields of Carthage to render uninhabitable the territory of their ancient rival. The rapporteur for human rights and the environment, David Boyd, said damaging Gaza’s sole water supply would be “catastrophic” for the environment and human rights.

Media reports, photographs and satellite imagery suggest the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have set up pumps at al-Shati refugee camp on the eastern coastline of the Gaza strip, which they could use to pump millions of gallons of seawater into the tunnels used by the militant group.

Continue reading at www.theguardian.com

Israeli Plans to Pump Seawater into Alleged Tunnels under Gaza Could Render it Uninhabitable and Destroy Historical Cultural Heritage Sites

Dec 419, 2023

Since 7 October 2023, Israel has waged a genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, preceded by explicit statements of intent by Israeli political and military officials – a critical constitutive and distinctive element of the crime of genocide. A key feature of Israel’s ongoing military aggression against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza is the escalated weaponisation of water, among other necessities vital for the survival of the population. Israel declared total warfare on Gaza’s civilian population, including by announcing a complete siege on Gaza, and employing starvation and thirst as a method of warfare.

Referring to Palestinians in Gaza as “human animals”, Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant stated on 9 October 2023, “[w]e are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed”. In a similar vein, May Golan, the Minister for the Advancement of the Status of Women of Israel, also stated, on 7 October 2023, that “[a]ll of Gaza’s infrastructures must be destroyed to its foundation and their electricity cut off immediately”, adding that, “[t]he war is not against Hamas but against the state of Gaza”. The former head of the Israeli National Security Council, Giora Eiland, stated, “Israel should not allow any economic assistance. The people should be told that they have two choices; to stay and to starve, or to leave”. Eiland goes further by outlining a contingency plan in the case that the Israeli-imposed energy shortage in Gaza did not prevent Palestinians from accessing desalinated water sourced from wells in Gaza. He said: “If the energy shortage in Gaza makes it so that they stop pumping out water, that’s good. Otherwise, we have to attack these water treatment plants to create a situation of thirst and hunger and I would say, signal an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis”.

Continue reading atwww.alhaq.org

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