Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of committing genocide and crimes against humanity through its deliberate restriction of water supplies in Gaza during its 14-month military campaign, according to a new report.
The 184-page report, titled “Extermination and Acts of Genocide“, details Israeli attacks on water infrastructure that forced Palestinians to use contaminated water sources, leading to deadly disease outbreaks particularly affecting children.
HRW’s investigation found evidence of systematic destruction of water facilities, including the razing of solar panels powering wastewater treatment plants and damage to water reservoirs.
Satellite imagery showed 11 of Gaza’s 54 water reservoirs were completely or largely destroyed, with damage to 20 others.
The rights group cited statements by Israeli ministers as evidence of intent, including then-defence minister Yoav Gallant’s order for a “complete siege” of Gaza and declaration that “there will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel”.
Health impacts have been severe, with nearly 670,000 cases of acute watery diarrhoea and over 132,000 cases of jaundice recorded since the war began.
The report notes that childhood diseases have become more lethal due to the destruction of medical facilities.
Israel has rejected the allegations, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling them “false and outrageous”.
The government maintains its actions are self-defence following Hamas’s October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage.
The report follows similar conclusions by Amnesty International and comes after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza earlier this year.
Lama Fakih, HRW’s Middle East and North Africa director, said the evidence shows Israeli authorities “intentionally inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part”, meeting the definition of genocide under international law.
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