Systematic Denial of Water

Since October 2023, Israel has deliberately cut off pipelines, fuel, and electricity, critically disabling Gaza’s water and sanitation systems. By mid-2025, the average availability of clean water fell to just 6 litres per person per day—far below the WHO minimum standard of 15 litres . Reports from UNICEF and Oxfam confirm that over 40% of Gaza’s water infrastructure is non-functional, with over 400,000 children lacking access to safe drinking water.

Such actions violate Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits attacks on objects indispensable to civilian survival. Deliberately depriving civilians of water constitutes a war crime under Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute.

Use of Starvation as a Weapon

Israel’s siege and blockade of Gaza has included the widespread obstruction of food imports and closure of bakeries. Over 89,000 tonnes of food aid have been prevented from entering the territory . By early 2025, children began dying of starvation-related illnesses, with famine-like conditions confirmed in northern Gaza.

The Rome Statute (Art. 8(2)(b)(xxv)) clearly prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. According to UN Special Rapporteurs, the Israeli government’s use of starvation and food deprivation tactics amounts to a war crime and collective punishment, in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention (Art. 33).

Obstruction and Weaponisation of Humanitarian Aid

Israel has systematically obstructed humanitarian convoys, blocking thousands of aid trucks carrying essential food, medicine, fuel, and hygiene supplies. UN OCHA and other humanitarian actors report that only a small fraction of required aid has been allowed through since the start of the war . Between March and June 2025, over 410 Palestinians were killed while attempting to access food at aid distribution sites in Israeli-controlled areas .

Such interference violates Article 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which obliges the occupying power to permit and facilitate unimpeded humanitarian relief. Attacks on aid sites and obstruction of relief operations are prohibited under Customary IHL and may constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute (Arts. 7 & 8).

Legal Accountability & International Condemnation

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OCHA, UNICEF, and various UN Special Rapporteurs have declared Israel’s actions a form of “collective punishment”, in clear violation of IHL. The International Court of Justice, in its 2024 provisional measures, instructed Israel to facilitate aid delivery—orders that remain largely ignored .

The obstruction of water, food, and aid, combined with the siege tactics and targeting of distribution sites, constitute serious breaches of international law and may rise to the level of crimes against humanity under Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute.

Placards displayed at a Palestine demonstration in Piccadilly Circus, London (August 2024)

Image credit: Shutterstock/A Moses