*This letter is intended to share information that is critical to all U.S. elected officials and their staffers. Please follow links included at the end of this letter.*
This weekend, the Israeli military destroyed yet another water source in Gaza, bombing a reservoir in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. In a disgusting affront to Jewish values and traditions, an Israeli soldier released this footage, writing that the bombing was "in honor of Shabbat." In response, Jewish Voice for Peace announced on Instagram, “We are horrified. Not in our name.”
The Israeli military is systematically using water as a weapon of war as it commits genocide on Palestinians in Gaza. Oxfam America released a report finding that access to water has been reduced 94% since October. Palestinians in Gaza third have e. re items ended eninin day, less than a emergencies. In the US, most people use over 100 liters of water each day.
4.74 liters is less than a single toilet flush.
Israeli forces have damaged or destroyed five water and sanitation infrastructure sites every three days since the start of the war. They also have destroyed 70% of all sewage pumps and 100% of all wastewater treatment plants, as well as the main water quality testing laboratories in Gaza.
The lack of clean water has a dire impact on Palestinians' health. Over 25% of Gaza's population has fallen ill from preventable diseases. This past week, polio-a highly infectious disease that causes long term issues such as paralysis-was found in Gaza. The threat that polio and other diseases pose is a direct consequence of the Israeli military's deliberate escalation of attacks on wells, sanitation systems, and wastewater treatment facilities in Gaza.
Oxfam water specialist Lama Abdul Samad said,
"We've already seen Israel's use of collective punishment and its use of starvation as a weapon of war. Now we are witnessing its weaponizing of water, which is already having deadly consequences. The deliberate restriction of water is not a new tactic. The Israeli government has been depriving Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza of safe and sufficient water for many years."
(https://open.substack.com/pub/dropsitenews/p/idf-canada-well-rachel-corrie-rafah-water?r=3i00yu&utm_medium=ios)
(https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/israel-using-water-weapon-war-gaza-supply-plummets-94-creating-deadly-health#)
(https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-07-29/ty-article/.premium/idf-commanders-gave-order-to-blow-up-rafah-reservoir-army-suspects-breach-of-intl-law/00000190-fd90-d5ef-a5fe-ff9ec3ea0000)
(https://www.instagram.com/p/C9--gZvgMGh/?igsh=a3FobG52OXpqcms0)
First sent on July 30 by BlueCollarJew
