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Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed “acts of genocide” are currently being committed in Gaza by the State of Israel. For these reasons, the organization urged the international community to apply targeted sanctions to that country within the context of its damage to water infrastructure and its cutting off from civilians supplies.

The New York-based entity released what it called report concerning water access, stating that it was systematic abuse and thus would result in turning thousands dead “and will likely continue to cause deaths.” “Palestinians have not been denied by authority since October 2023 because even the supply did not reach any amount necessary for survival in the Gaza Strip,” reads the report.

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In response to Hamas’ attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel’s military actions in the occupied Gaza Strip have resulted in at least 45,097 fatalities, with the actual death toll feared to be much higher due to many individuals still unaccounted for under the rubble.

On Thursday, Israel dismissed the HRW report, which accused it of committing “acts of genocide” by restricting civilian access to water, labeling it as “full of lies.”

The HRW report detailed what it claimed were intentional attacks on water and sanitation infrastructure, including damage to solar panels powering treatment plants, a reservoir, and a spare parts warehouse, as well as the obstruction of fuel supplies for generators.

Additionally, Israel has cut electricity supplies, targeted repair workers, and blocked the importation of necessary repair materials, according to the report.

The findings concluded that these actions by Israeli authorities have created “conditions of life calculated to bring about [the Palestinian population’s] physical destruction in whole or in part,” which constitutes the war crime of “extermination” and “acts of genocide.”

In a statement to Dawn.com regarding the report, HRW Senior Counsel for the Asia Division, Saroop Ijaz, remarked, “This is extermination, a crime against humanity, and an act of genocide. The Israeli authorities didn’t just cut off water for Palestinians in Gaza.”