Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that the long-term Israeli blockade has caused a serious deterioration of water security in Gaza, making 97% of the water undrinkable, while the residents of the besieged enclave are forced to witness the slow poisoning.

This came in a joint oral statement for the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and the Global Institute for Water, Environment and Health (GIWEH) during the 48th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC). 

It noted that the acute electricity crisis stifles the operation of water wells and sewage treatment plants, leading about 80% of Gaza's untreated sewage to be discharged into the sea while 20% seeps into underground water.

 Muhammed Shehada, Chief of Programs and Communications at Euro-Med Monitor, said that Israel's attacks on Gaza last May aggravated the enclave's already decaying infrastructure, especially in the water sector.

He also noted that about a quarter of the diseases spread in Gaza are caused by water pollution, and 12% of the deaths of young children and infants are linked to intestinal diseases related to contaminated water.