HRW accuses Israel of genocide by restricting water in Gaza

Jerusalem:  Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday accused Israel of “acts of genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza by depriving them of adequate water supplies, media reports said.

The group, in an extensive report, found that between October 2023 and September 2024, Israeli authorities deprived Palestinians of what the World Health Organisation (WHO) says is the minimum quantity of water required for survival in prolonged emergency situations. This has contributed to thousands of deaths and the spread of numerous diseases, CNN reported.

Israel, which has repeatedly denied allegations of genocide and of using hunger as a weapon of war, denied HRW’s latest accusations, with a foreign ministry spokesperson saying the report was “full of lies.”

According to WHO, a person needs between 50 and 100 litres (13 and 26 gallons) of water per day to ensure their “basic needs are met.” In protracted emergency situations, the minimum amount of water can drop to 15 to 20 litres per day for drinking and washing.

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According to reports, over 2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, even this is out of reach, HRW found. Most or all of the water Palestinians in Gaza have access to is not safe to drink.

HRW says Israel’s actions amount to acts of genocide under the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

It stresses that the deprivation of water is leading to the slow deaths of Palestinians in Gaza, including newborn babies whose mothers can’t feed them due to malnourishment and dehydration and who are drinking formula mixed with dirty water, the report said.

Israel’s war in Gaza, launched after Hamas’ attack in October 2023, has killed nearly 45,000 Palestinians and injured 106,000 more, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

HRW says that the obstruction of water in Gaza is a deliberate act by Israeli authorities, citing Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian aid, including supplies relating to water treatment and production, restrictions on the flow of clean water through pipelines from Israel into Gaza, as well as “massive” damage to Gaza’s water infrastructure caused by Israeli strikes.

Israeli soldiers destroyed a vital water reservoir in Rafah, southern Gaza, captured in a deleted video shared by an Israeli soldier and geolocated by CNN.

In a statement on X, Oren Marmorstein, the spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, denied the accusations and said Israel had “facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid” into Gaza, the report said.

He said Israel had also ensured water infrastructure, including four water pipelines and water pumping and desalination facilities, remain operational.