RAMALLAH, Palestine 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel on Friday of “deliberately causing thirst” and spreading diseases in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian news agency, WAFA.

Abbas made the remarks on World Water Day, which is celebrated annually on March 22.

"World Water Day this year comes at a time when our Palestinian people in Gaza are experiencing, like never before, the most heinous inhuman crimes of the occupation, which have claimed the lives of thousands of innocent victims, including martyrs, wounded, mostly children, women, and elderly," he said.

Abbas added that Gazans "stand in long lines for hours to get a little water, under the Israeli bombardment that targets them mercilessly, deliberately causing thirst, spreading diseases and epidemics among them, especially with the malfunctioning of sewage systems and the flooding of wastewater."

He said the Israeli aggression and deliberate destruction of the water and sewage sector in Gaza deprived residents of essential life components and exacerbated the water crisis.

Abbas noted that the per capita water share in Gaza is currently three liters per day, while the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization is 120 liters and 15 liters for survival.

It means that the individual's share of water in Gaza is equivalent to 2.5% of the WHO recommended level and 20% of the minimum needed for survival.

He said the available water quantities in Gaza do not exceed 10% - 20% of what they were before the aggression, due to the damage inflicted on the infrastructure and water facilities.

He emphasized that the water issue "with the occupation has been going on for decades; it continues to plunder our water resources and hinder efforts to develop the water and sewage sector to achieve its strategic goal of controlling water to ensure the sustainability of its state, at the expense of our historical water rights."

He questioned how the world can raise the slogan of water for peace while children in Gaza drink sea and contaminated water and die of thirst.

Abbas urged the international community to immediately stop the brutal aggression against Palestinians, secure the entry of medical supplies, food and necessary items to provide water, electricity and fuel to Gaza and prevent the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.

He also urged the international community to stand with Palestinian people and their just rights and work to find a comprehensive solution to end the occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 6, resulting in tens of thousands of civilian casualties, mostly children and women, and a famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly, according to Palestinian and UN data.

The actions by Israel have led to it appearing before the International Court of Justice for the first time on "genocide" charges/

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul