Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, has added her voice to the chorus of condemnation over the Israeli move, which would affect operations at the Deir el-Balah desalination plant, Al Jazeera reports.

Hary told the Associated Press news agency that the plant has been providing 18,000 cubic metres of water per day, but that it will now need to rely on generators, meaning it can only process about 2,500 cubic metres per day, about the amount in an Olympic swimming pool.

She added that Israel’s restrictions on fuel entering Gaza will make it even harder for people to access water, since it will affect the trucks that help distribute desalinated water.

In a separate post on X, Hary condemned the Israeli move as a war crime.

“Cutting electricity supply used for civilian purposes like desalinating water is not ‘using the tools at our disposal’ as Minister Cohen says, it’s committing the crimes at Israel’s disposal,” she wrote, referring to the Israeli Energy Minister’s statement on the move.

“Israel has obligations to residents of Gaza as [an] occupying power & a party to hostilities,” she added.