Israel accused of act of genocide over restriction of Gaza water supply
Girls walking past a puddle of raw sewage on their way to collect water in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in July 2024
Julian Borger reports in The Guardian on 19 December 2024:
Israel’s restriction of Gaza’s water supply to levels below minimum needs amounts to an act of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity, a human rights report has alleged.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigated Israeli attacks on the water supply infrastructure in Gaza over the course of its 14-month war there.
It has accused Israeli forces of deliberate actions intended to cut the availability of clean water so drastically that the population has been forced to resort to contaminated sources, leading to the outbreak of lethal diseases, especially among children.
Israel’s actions have killed many thousands of Palestinians and constitute an act of genocide, HRW argues, citing declarations by ministers in the country’s ruling coalition that Gaza’s water supply would be cut off as evidence of intent.
The 184-page report, Extermination and Acts of Genocide, comes after an Amnesty International report this month concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.
The medical aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also issued a report on Gaza on Thursday, saying there were “clear signs of ethnic cleansing” and evidence consistent with allegations of genocide.
“What our medical teams have witnessed on the ground throughout this conflict is consistent with the descriptions provided by an increasing number of legal experts and organisations concluding that genocide is taking place in Gaza,” MSF’s secretary general, Christopher Lockyear, said.
“While we don’t have legal authority to establish intentionality, the signs of ethnic cleansing and the ongoing devastation – including mass killings, severe physical and mental health injuries, forced displacement, and impossible conditions of life for Palestinians under siege and bombardment – are undeniable.”
There were provisional orders from the international court of justice earlier in the year for Israel to halt its offensive and take immediate measures to prevent genocide being committed, pending a court ruling on whether it was already committing the crime.