This is an entry from: Israel-Palestine war: First week ends with over 2,500 Palestinians, 1,400 Israelis killed
HRW says order for siege on Gaza is 'call to commit a war crime'
9 October 2023 20:59 BST
Human Rights Watch condemned Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's announcement ordering a full siege on Gaza, as the rights group said it was akin to calling to "commit a war crime".
"Defense Minister Gallant's statements are abhorrent. Depriving the population in an occupied territory of food and electricity is collective punishment, which is a war crime, as is using starvation as a weapon of war," Omar Shakir, the Israel-Palestine director for HRW, said in a statement published on X.
"The International Criminal Court should take note of this call to commit a war crime."