HRW accuses Israel of genocide over water access in the Gaza Strip

Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in Gaza by deliberately denying Palestinian civilians there access to water.

It states that Israel’s actions include intentionally damaging water and sanitation infrastructure.

The campaign group says this likely caused thousands of deaths, which it says also amounts to “committing the crime against humanity of extinction.”

Israel refused HRW report as “propaganda”.

In a post on XIsrael’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the group was “once again spreading its blood libels…The truth is the complete opposite of HRW’s lies.”

The 179-page report said: “Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have intentionally hindered Palestinians’ access to sufficient water needed to survive in the Gaza Strip.”

It says Israel deliberately damaged infrastructure, including solar panels that power processing plants, a reservoir and a spare parts warehouse, while blocking fuel for generators.

It said Israel also cut off power, attacked repair workers and blocked the entry of repair materials into Gaza.

“This is not just negligence,” said HRW executive director Tirana Hassan. “It is a calculated policy of deprivation that has resulted in the deaths of thousands from dehydration and disease, which constitutes nothing less than the crime against humanity of extermination and an act of genocide.”

The report is based on interviews with dozens of Gaza Palestinians, including water authority officials, sanitation experts and health workers, as well as satellite images and data from October 2023 to September 2024.

Israel launched a major military offensive in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.

At least 45,129 people have been killed in Gaza since the offensive began, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. No figure is given as to how many people have died due to lack of access to water or other causes.

The HRW report notes that to constitute the crime of genocide, alleged acts require proof of intent. It said the findings, including statements from senior Israeli officials, “may indicate such an intent.”

But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein dismissed HRW’s allegations on

He said water pipes, pumping and desalination plants remained operational and that water tankers had repeatedly delivered supplies to Gaza through Israeli border crossings.

“This report is full of lies that are appalling even compared to HRW’s already low standards,” he added.

The HRW report is the latest in a series of accusations by human rights groups and others that Israel is committing genocide in its campaign in Gaza.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the United Nations’ highest court – is also currently reviewing a South African case accusing Israel of genocide.

The 1948 Genocide Convention, adopted in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust of European Jews, defines genocide as “acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”

Israel has vehemently rejected such accusations as “completely unfounded” and anti-Semitic. It states that there was no intentional harm to the civilian population in Gaza and that they were only fighting against Hamas.