Israel resumed water supply to the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday after facing strong pressure from the Biden administration, as revealed by two Israeli officials speaking to Axios.
Significance: Israel’s previous decision to halt water supply to Gaza had exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation in the region. Aid organizations had issued warnings that water supplies were rapidly running out.
At the onset of the conflict, Israel had declared a complete cessation of water supply to Gaza. Israeli Minister of Energy, Israel Katz, had firmly stated that no water would flow until Hamas released the hostages they were holding.
Behind the scenes: Israeli officials say the Biden administration pressed the Israeli government in the last 48 hours to resume the water supply, especially to the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has told more than 1 million Palestinians to evacuate the northern part of the Strip to the south to avoid being harmed by Israel’s expected ground offensive.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have since moved to the south, putting more pressure on limited supplies and shelters.
The Biden administration told Israel that it couldn’t tell Palestinians to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip without allowing them to have water, the Israeli officials said.
What they’re saying: White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday that his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi informed him of the Israeli decision to resume water supply to the southern Gaza Strip.
