HRW accuses Israel of 'acts of genocide' for restricting Gaza water access

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday accused Israel of committing "acts of genocide" in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure and cutting off supplies to civilians, calling on the international community to impose targeted sanctions.

In a new report, which focused specifically on water, the New York-based rights group detailed what it said were deliberate efforts by Israeli authorities "of a systematic nature" to deprive Palestinians of water, which had "likely caused thousands of deaths ... and will likely continue to cause deaths".

"Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have deliberately obstructed Palestinians' access to the adequate amount of water required for survival in the Gaza Strip," the report said.

The report concluded that in doing so, "Israeli authorities intentionally inflicted on the Palestinian population in Gaza 'conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part'."

This, it said, amounted to the war crime of "extermination" and to "acts of genocide".

Israel reacted to the HRW report by saying it is "full of lies".