Amal al-Robayaa embarks on the daily struggle to find water and food on November 7, 2023, amid the ruins of the family home destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah. Human Rights Watch said Thursday that Palestinians in Gaza were being deliberately starved of water by Israeli “acts of genocide.” File Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI | License Photo
Human Rights Watch on Thursday said that Palestinians in Gaza are being deliberately starved of water by Israel in what could amount to “acts of genocide.”
The New York-based advocacy group alleged in a new report that Israel had inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the population by intentionally depriving people of adequate access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needed for “basic survival”, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths. Advertisement
“In doing so, Israeli authorities are responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide. The pattern of conduct, coupled with statements suggesting that some Israeli officials wished to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, may amount to the crime of genocide,” the report states.
HRW alleges Israeli authorities and forces cut off and later restricted piped water to Gaza; cut power and starved the enclave of fuel, putting most water and sanitation infrastructure out of action; deliberately destroyed and damaged water and sanitation infrastructure and repair material; and blocked critical water supplies from getting in. Advertisement
HRW urged governments and international organizations to act immediately to head off genocide in Gaza by ending military assistance to Israel, taking a close look at bilateral agreements and diplomatic ties, and backing efforts by the International Criminal Court and others to hold those responsible to account.
The allegations echo a report by Amnesty International earlier this month that also used the phrase “deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” citing blocking or denial of life-saving goods and humanitarian aid and restricting electricity; although it mainly focuses on civilian killings, forcible displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Like HRW’s report, Amnesty said it had reached its conclusion by analyzing behavior patterns and more than 100 statements by senior figures in the Israeli leadership.
“Water is essential for human life, yet for over a year the Israeli government has deliberately denied Palestinians in Gaza the bare minimum they need to survive,” said HRW executive director Tirana Hassan.
“This isn’t just negligence; it is a calculated policy of deprivation that has led to the deaths of thousands from dehydration and disease that is nothing short of the crime against humanity of extermination, and an act of genocide.” Advertisement
HRW said the policy as part of inflicting conditions designed to bring about Palestinian civilians’ physical destruction amounted to one of the five “acts of genocide” under the Genocide Convention of 1948.
It noted that Israeli authorities cut all electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks with then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announcing a total siege of Gaza in which there would be “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything is closed.”
HRW cited the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, the United Nations and other sources as saying that between October 2023 and August 2024 people in Gaza did not have access to the minimum amount of water needed for survival.
In northern Gaza, the U.N. reported that people did not have access to potable water for over five months between November 2023 and April 2024. While a study of water access in August showed that while people’s access to water had increased, most still lacked sufficient water for drinking and cooking.
Israel responded with anger to the HRW report, calling it defamatory and an “egregious lie” stating that it was using three water lines to pump in an average of 28.3 gallons per person in northern Gaza, 9 gallons per person in central Gaza, and 5.3 gallons liters per person in southern Gaza. Advertisement
“Human Rights Watch is once more spreading its blood libels in order to promote its anti-Israel propaganda. The truth is the complete opposite of HRW’s lies,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in a post on X.
“Since the beginning of the war, Israel has facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite operating under constant attacks of the Hamas terror organization.
“Israel has ensured water infrastructure, including the continued operation of four water pipelines and water pumping and desalination facilities, which remain operational. Water tankers have been delivered repeatedly by international partners through Israeli crossings, including just last week.
“Israel will continue to ensure humanitarian aid enters Gaza, in full compliance with international law.”
In November, HRW published its own 154-page report on the conflict that found Israel responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity through a “systematic” state policy of forcible displacement of 1.9 million Palestinian civilians within Gaza and the destruction of most of the enclave.
