Israeli agency refutes claims made by Médecins Sans Frontières claims of Gaza water crisis

The Israeli agency COGAT has refuted claims made by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctors Without Borders) that by limiting that organisation’s activities in Gaza, the Israeli government is creating a water crisis there.

COIGAT is the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories: Judea and Samaria and towards the Gaza Strip.

“MSF, there is no need to manufacture fake crises that do not exist,” said COAGT in a social media post. “Gaza is receiving enough water, well above the humanitarian threshold, and adequate medical care and will continue to do so in the future, even without your involvement.”

“Attempts to disseminate false claims,” added the Agency, “fake positioning yourself as a crucial organisation instead of engaging with a transparent and fair registration mechanism only shows how your organisation is driven by political motives rather than genuine humanitarian work.”

MSF had released a video on social media claiming that if it’s forced to cease activities in Gaza, then “hundreds of thousands of people will lose access to drinking water.”

Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry last week announced it is moving to terminate the activities of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) in the Gaza Strip, citing what it described as a serious and ongoing violation of registration and transparency requirements for international humanitarian organisations.

According to the ministry, which leads an inter-ministerial team overseeing the registration and supervision of international organisations operating in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, the French non-governmental organisation (NGO) failed to submit the required lists of local employees, a condition applied to all humanitarian groups operating in the area. Officials said the requirement is meant to prevent aid frameworks from being exploited by Hamas.

TPS