An unexpected development in Gaza showed up this morning. Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized the restoration of water service to Gaza, but only the southern portion where people were told to evacuate if they wanted to survive the anticipated Israeli ground assault in the northern part of the Strip. Axios is describing the decision as a result of “strong pressure from the Biden administration,” but I’m dubious about that being the case. We’ll discuss the reasons for that in a moment, but this may prove to generate some skepticism about Israel’s true intentions and long-term strategy. Netanyahu’s administration had originally said that “no water spigot” would be opened until Hamas released all of the hostages. That hasn’t happened yet, so some of Israel’s enemies may interpret this as a sign of weakness or a wavering commitment.

Israel resumed on Sunday the water supply to the southern Gaza Strip after strong pressure from the Biden administration, two Israeli officials told Axios.

Israel’s decision to completely stop the water supply to Gaza exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, with aid groups warning water supplies were quickly running out.

Israel announced on the second day of the war that it was stopping all of the water supply to Gaza. Israeli Minister of Energy Israel Katz had said that “no water spigot will be opened” until the hostages Hamas is holding were freed.

This looks more like a strategic move on Netanyahu’s part than any sort of concession. The Times of Israel has a better look at the story and how it unfolded. They describe “a conversation” between the Israeli Prime Minister and Joe Biden instead of some sort of “pressure” campaign. And it was reportedly Bibi who expressed frustration with Hamas blocking people from evacuating the northern part of the Strip. He suggested that turning the water on only in the south might compel more civilians to move out of harms way as they sought water.

Unfortunately, that won’t do anything for the people who are trapped in their homes by Hamas militants who are refusing to allow them to leave. They are being used as human shields, just as Hamas always does. That plan seems unlikely to pan out this time, however. Netanyahu already offered everyone the opportunity to flee while they still could. It’s not Israel that will be getting those people killed. It will be the fault of Hamas for blocking their departure. And Israel will almost certainly stick to the plan and go in anyway. As I’ve said here ad nauseum, sometimes bad things happen in war.

The water situation was already out of control long before Israel began defending itself in a serious fashion. A 2017 report from Amnesty International found that 90-95 percent of the potable water supply in Gaza was contaminated and unfit for human consumption. Once they took control, Hamas failed to invest any money in Gaza’s infrastructure, including water purification plants. On top of that, many households already lacked running water and plumbing because Hamas keeps digging up all the pipes to use in making rockets to fire at Israel.

So much of the world is always eager to blame Israel for the woes of the Palestinian people. But in this, as with so many other things, it is actually Hamas causing the misery of the people in Gaza. Once Hamas is destroyed once and for all, the Palestinian people will be much better off whether they realize it now or not. Of course, much work will remain because those people will need to be deprogrammed to the point where they realize that they may still have some purpose in life that doesn’t involved destroying Israel and eradicating the Jewish people. Frankly, I’m not sure that’s even possible at this point, but if we don’t at least try, what other options remain? Israel would basically have to pave over the Gaza strip and declare it a perpetual no-man’s land.