The Israeli Energy Minister, Israel Katz, announced on Monday that he had ordered the disconnection of water supply pipes from Israel to the Gaza Strip.
This action followed the cutoff of electricity and fuel supplies to Gaza, which occurred two days earlier. The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, also declared a “complete” siege on Gaza, stating that no electricity, food, water, or fuel would be allowed to reach the Gaza Strip. Israel had already closed all crossings with Gaza in both directions since Saturday.
The backdrop to these actions is the conflict between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian soldiers from Hamas group.
Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Saturday, launching a barrage of rockets in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and escalating settler violence. In retaliation, the Israeli army initiated Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
As a result of the conflict, the Gaza-based Health Ministry reported that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza had reached 704, including 143 children and 105 women.
The number of wounded individuals had risen to around 4,000. On the Israeli side, the Israeli Health Ministry reported that at least 900 Israelis had been killed, and over 2,600 others had been wounded in the fighting.
In the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, numerous reports and international organizations have accused Israeli forces of committing alleged war crimes and violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories.
These accusations include claims of indiscriminate attacks that have resulted in civilian casualties, the use of excessive force against protesters, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Concerns have been raised about the impact of these actions on Palestinian civilians, particularly in Gaza, where high civilian casualties have occurred during military operations.
These brutal actions have sparked international condemnation and calls for investigations into possible violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
