HRW accuses Israel of genocide by restricting Gaza water

Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel this week of genocide by restricting water to Gaza amid the country's ongoing war with Hamas militants.

The rights group joins a growing chorus of critics accusing Israel of committing genocidal acts in its war in Gaza. Israel strongly rejects the allegations, maintaining that its military operations target Hamas militants, not Gaza's civilian population.

"Israeli authorities have deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the population in Gaza by intentionally depriving Palestinian civilians there of adequate access to water, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths," HRW said in its report on Thursday. "In doing so, Israeli authorities are responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide. The pattern of conduct, coupled with statements suggesting that some Israeli officials wished to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, may amount to the crime of genocide."

More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed during the 14 months of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Gaza health ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but reports that over half of the casualties are women and children.

An Israeli airstrike on a house in central Gaza early Thursday killed at least five people, including a boy and two women, according to hospital officials. Seven others were wounded as neighbors scrambled through the rubble, searching for survivors.