PALESTINE- Israel has heightened its assault on Palestinian civilians by targeting Gaza’s sole operating wheat mill, the Al-Salam Mill in Deir Al-Balah, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
This aggressive move is part of a larger strategy to exacerbate the food crisis for Palestinians, following the recent bombing of numerous bakeries, particularly in Gaza City and the northern regions of the Strip.
The Euro-Med Monitor strongly condemned the Israeli army’s artillery shelling, which forced the shutdown of the Al-Salam Mill.
The mill’s closure compounds the existing challenges faced by the region, as structural damage, fuel shortages, and the absence of water and wheat flour have already crippled bakeries in Gaza City and the Strip’s northern areas for over a week. Wheat flour is now scarce in local markets.
The situation is dire for over 1.6 million internally displaced Palestinians, forced out of Gaza City and its surroundings into the southern Gaza Valley by Israel’s actions.
The central and southern regions of the Strip are now on the brink of collapse, as water wells have ceased operations, leaving civilians, including children, in a precarious situation.
Euro-Med Monitor’s team reported that ten crucial water wells, the primary water source in Rafah City, have recently stopped pumping. Furthermore, the southern Khan Yunis desalination plant, responsible for supplying drinking water to approximately 100,000 people, has halted operations due to a fuel shortage.
In a devastating blow to the region, sixty water wells in the central and southern Gaza Strip, along with the two main desalination plants in the middle and southern areas, have all ceased operations.
The human rights organization issued a stark warning of an imminent and complete interruption of drinking water sources across all governorates of the Gaza Strip.
Euro-Med Monitor emphasized that, as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is obligated under international humanitarian law to protect and meet the needs of the people residing there.
The Geneva-based human rights organization urged the international community to take swift and decisive action to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and ensure the well-being of its civilian population.
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