Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday said Israel was 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 in Gaza 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.

In retaliation to Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attacks, Israel’s invasion of the illegally occupied Gaza Strip has killed at least 45,097 people — with the death toll feared to be much higher due to thousands still missing under the rubble.

Israel on Thursday said the report by Human Rights Watch accusing it of committing “acts of genocide” in the Gaza Strip by restricting access to water for civilians was “full of lies”.

The HRW report detailed what the group said was the intentional damaging of water and sanitation infrastructure, including solar panels powering treatment plants, a reservoir and a spare parts warehouse, as well as the blocking of fuel for generators.

Israel also cut electricity supplies, attacked repair workers and blocked the importation of repair materials, it 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”.

Speaking to Dawn.com on the report, HRW Senior Counsel Asia Division Saroop Ijaz said, “This is extermination, a crime against humanity, and an act of genocide.”

He said that Israeli authorities didn’t just cut off water for Palestinians in Gaza. They also destroyed water infrastructure, targeted water workers, and blocked water aid.

“This very deliberate pattern of conduct is ‘calculated (for) physical destruction’.That makes it an act of genocide.”

He also added, “governments arming Israel and undermining accountability efforts risk complicity in Israel’s atrocities in Gaza — Countries have a legal and moral responsibility to prevent genocide against Palestinians by arms embargo, targeted sanctions and support for justice.”

Human Rights Watch is the second major rights group in a month to use the word genocide to describe the actions of Israel in Gaza after Amnesty International issued a report that concluded Israel was committing genocide.

A report from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) released today has also found “clear signs of ethnic cleansing” in Gaza by Israeli attacks

However, HRW stopped short of saying Israel was committing outright “genocide”.

Under international law, proving genocide requires evidence of specific intent, which experts say is very difficult.

HRW said that, “The pattern of conduct set out in this report together with statements suggesting some Israeli officials wished to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza may indicate such intent.”

Speaking at a briefing on the report, Lama Faqih, director of HRW’s Middle East and North Africa division, said that in the absence of “a clear articulated plan” to commit genocide, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) might find that the evidence meets the “very strict threshold” of reasonable inference of genocidal intent.

HRW pointed to a statement by then-defence minister Yoav Gallant in October 2023, when he declared a “complete siege” and said: “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it’s all closed.”

Israel is facing a case brought by South Africa at the ICJ last December, arguing that Israel’s invasion of Gaza breached the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, an accusation Israel has strongly denied.

Israel denies intentional destruction of the population in Gaza, saying that it facilitates aid to the besieged territory.

‘Malnourished and dehydrated’

The HRW report, drawn up over nearly a year, is based on interviews with dozens of Palestinians in Gaza, staff at water and sanitation facilities, medics and aid workers, as well as satellite imagery, photographs, videos and data analysis.

It said Israeli authorities did not reply to requests for information.

The lack of water left Palestinians in Gaza vulnerable to water-borne diseases and complications, such as infected wounds and the inability to heal due to dehydration, HRW said.

Medical facilities were also struggling to maintain basic hygiene practices. Deaths from such cases “are likely vastly underreported”, the report said.

Doctors and nurses told HRW that “many of their patients have died from preventable diseases and infections, and healable wounds, due to dehydration and the unavailability of water”.

One emergency room nurse cited in the report said they were forced to decide “not to resuscitate children who were severely malnourished and dehydrated”.

The rights group called on Israel to take numerous actions, including to “immediately ensure” sufficient water, fuel and electricity in Gaza.

It also said the international community must “take all measures within their power to prevent genocide by Israeli authorities in Gaza”.

That included “discontinuing any military assistance and arms sales or transfers, imposing targeted sanctions, and reviewing bilateral deals and diplomatic relations”.