IDF investigating demolition of water facility by troops in southern Gaza
Military does not respond to requests for comment, but report says incident being probed as suspected violation of international law
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces is investigating footage posted to social media over the weekend showing combat engineers blowing up critical water infrastructure in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
In the video, posted by a soldier to Instagram and later circulated on X, troops can be seen rigging up the water facility, known as Canada Well, with explosives.
Another clip shows the site being blown up.
The video was tagged with the caption: “Demolishing the water reservoir of Tel Sultan in honor of the Sabbath.”
The IDF did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by The Times of Israel.
On Monday, the Haaretz daily reported that the incident was being investigated by the Military Police as a suspected violation of international law.
According to the report, the troops who carried out the demolition had received approval from their brigade commander, but they did not ask for permission from senior officers in the IDF Southern Command.
The Canada Well is located in Rafah’s northwestern Tel Sultan neighborhood, close to the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone.
Rafah | Rafah’s water reservoir blown up
Israeli soldier from the combat engineering corps sharing footage on his personal account blowing Rafah’s water reservoir in Tel Sultan neighborhood “in honor of Shabbat” as he describes it. pic.twitter.com/bpCghkOWeQ
— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) July 26, 2024
According to recent IDF assessments, only some 20,000 Palestinians remain in the Rafah area. Around 1.4 million Palestinians had been sheltering in Rafah until the IDF launched its offensive there in May, ordering the civilians to move to the humanitarian zone.
