JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of intentionally depriving civilians in Gaza of adequate access to water, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths.
This amounts to crime against humanity of extermination and genocide by Israeli authorities, the New-York-based human rights watchdog said in a report released Thursday.
In the 179-page report titled 'Extermination and Acts of Genocide: Israel Deliberately Depriving Palestinians in Gaza of Water,' Human Rights Watch says that Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinians in Gaza of access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needed for basic human survival. Israeli authorities and forces cut off and later restricted piped water to Gaza; rendered most of Gaza's water and sanitation infrastructure useless by cutting electricity and restricting fuel; deliberately destroyed and damaged water and sanitation infrastructure and water repair materials; and blocked the entry of critical water supplies, the report said.
Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch, said it prepared the report after interviewing Palestinians from Gaza, employees of Gaza's Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, healthcare professionals, and people working with United Nations agencies and international aid organizations in Gaza. Human Rights Watch also analyzed satellite imagery, photographs, and videos captured between the beginning of the hostilities in October 2023 and September 2024, as well as data collected and estimates produced by doctors, epidemiologists, humanitarian aid organizations, and water and sanitation experts.
Immediately after the attacks in southern Israel by Hamas-led Palestinian armed groups in Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli authorities cut all electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip. On October 9, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a 'complete siege' of Gaza, stating: 'There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything is closed.'
For weeks thereafter, Israeli authorities cut off all water and blocked fuel, food, and humanitarian aid from entering the war-torn enclave.
Human Rights Watch says it found that Israeli forces have deliberately attacked and damaged or destroyed several major water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities.
Human Rights Watch had previously stated that the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel also amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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