Israeli authorities have deliberately deprived Palestinian civilians in Gaza of water, causing thousands of deaths and committing the crime of extermination as well as “acts of genocide”, a Human Rights Watch report says.
The publication comes amid international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has been waging a devastating offensive since Hamas’s shock attack on October 7 last year.
In its report, HRW listed what it said were Israel’s intentional actions — ranging from destroying infrastructure to blocking water-related aid — that had deprived most of Gaza’s 2.3mn citizens of access to the water needed to meet their most basic needs.