The situation in Rafah is rapidly deteriorating, particularly in Tel Al Sultan in which the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have besieged the neighborhood, imposed house arrest and cut off electricity and water supply.
According the Center’s fieldworker in Rafah, residents of Tel Al Sultan suffer from severe shortages of water following the complete destruction by the IOF of all water networks and the impossibility to supply the area with water.
It is worth mentioning that the six water wells that supply the city of Rafah with water are located in Tel Al Sultan neighborhood and that nobody has been able to access the spare generators to reinstate water supply.
The Head of the Water Section of Rafah Municipality has confirmed that as municipal officials arrived on the location of one of the water wells to repair it, the IOF targeted their vehicle and shot at the driver, who sustained an injury.
He added that, in any case, operating the water wells would not supply houses in Rafah with water, as all the necessary networks have been destroyed.
As a result the only solution to supply residents of Tel Al Sultan with water is through mobile reservoirs, on condition that this is permitted by the IOF, who still prohibit vehicular movement.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights emphasizes that cutting off water, food, medical supplies, as well as besieging the population of an entire neighborhood constitutes a war crime.
The Center calls upon the international community, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UNRWA and other international humanitarian and human rights organizations to immediately intervene to supply the people of Tel Al Sultan with water.
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