Gaza spirals into ‘man-made drought,’ UNICEF warns

Gaza is facing a “man-made drought” as its water systems collapse under the strain of ongoing genocide, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday.

“Children will begin to die of thirst. Only 40 percent of drinking water production facilities remain operational,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva, adding that water access in the Strip had fallen far below emergency standards.

The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate rapidly. According to UNICEF, admissions of malnourished children aged six months to five years rose by 50 percent between April and May. The agency also estimated that around 500,000 people are experiencing hunger.

UNICEF criticized the US-backed aid distribution system overseen by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), saying it was worsening the crisis. “It’s making a desperate situation worse,” Elder said.

On Friday, at least 25 Palestinians were killed by 'Israeli' fire while waiting for or seeking aid south of Netzarim in central Gaza, according to local health officials. A day earlier, 51 people were killed in 'Israeli' gunfire and airstrikes, including 12 reportedly shot while attempting to approach a GHF distribution site.

Elder, who recently visited Gaza, shared testimonies of women and children injured while trying to access food aid. One boy, he said, was struck by a tank shell while waiting for aid and later died from his injuries.

He also pointed to confusion around the opening times of GHF aid sites, some of which are located in combat zones, as a cause of deadly incidents. “There have been cases where people were told a site was open, only to later learn—through social media—that it wasn’t. But Gaza’s internet was down, and people had no way of knowing,” he explained.

Despite the worsening conditions, the GHF said on Wednesday that it had successfully delivered three million meals across three sites without incident.

Meanwhile, on Friday, at least 12 Palestinians from the Ayyash family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Deir al-Balah, raising the day's death toll to 37.