A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in Gaza by deliberately depriving Palestinian civilians there of adequate access to water.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a person needs between 50 and 100 litres of water per day in order to ensure that their “most basic needs are met.” In protracted emergency situations, the minimum amount of water required is 15 litres per person for drinking and washing. Yet, between October 2023 and September 2024, Israeli authorities’ actions have deprived the majority of the more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza of access to even that bare minimum amount of water. 

For many in Gaza, much or all of the water they have had access to is not suitable for drinking. “If we can’t find drinkable water, we drink the sea water,” one father displaced to a school in Rafah told HRW.

Doctors and nurses told the group that they had seen numerous infants, children, and adults die from a combination of malnutrition, dehydration, and disease.

The 179-page report says that “since October 2023, Israeli authorities have deliberately obstructed Palestinians’ access to the adequate amount of water required for survival in the Gaza Strip.” It says Israel intentionally damaged infrastructure, including solar panels powering treatment plants, a reservoir, and a spare parts warehouse, while also blocking fuel for generators. It also cut electricity supplies, attacked repair workers and blocked the entry into Gaza of repair materials.

“This isn’t just negligence,” said HRW executive director Tirana Hassan. “It is a calculated policy of deprivation that has led to the deaths of thousands from dehydration and disease that is nothing short of the crime against humanity of extermination, and an act of genocide.”

The charge of genocide implies a deliberate intent to commit the crime and the evidence suggests this exists, says the group. On October 9^th 2023, the Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered “a complete siege” on Gaza, stating: “There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything is closed.” Two days later, the Energy Minister, now Minister of Defence, Israel Katz, echoed the call for electricity, water, and fuel to be cut.”  Since then, Israeli authorities and military forces have matched these statements with actions. 

In November 2023, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, stated that Israel was using water “as a weapon of war.” This summer the first polio outbreaks in Gaza for 25 years were confirmed.

According to UNICEF, “cases of diarrhoea in children under five years of age rose from 48,000 to 71,000 in just one week starting 17th December. Drinking contaminated water significantly increases the risk of such bacterial infections. Jaundice and hepatitis have also soon big increases and the lack of water for washing has led to over 225,000 cases of skin diseases, and contributed to the spread of over 1 million cases of acute respiratory infections since the latest Israeli bombardment began. Compared to the immediate facilities resulting from Israel’s relentless bombardment, much of the health impact of Israel’s other policies have been under-reported.

The report is clear: “Israeli authorities’ deprivation of water to the population of Gaza is a violation of the right to water and sanitation under international human rights law.” Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, extermination includes “the intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia, the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population.”

HRW argues that Israeli policies and actions meet these criteria. This policy also amounts to an “act of genocide” under the Genocide Convention of 1948.

“The Israeli government’s continuing blockade of Gaza, as well as its more than 17-year closure of the strip, also amounts to collective punishment of the civilian population, a war crime,” said HRW.  “The closure also constitutes part of the continuing crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution that Israeli authorities have been committing against Palestinians.”

Image: Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal aera in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Damage_in_Gaza_Strip_during_the_October_2023_-_26.jpg Source: Correspondence with Wiki Palestine (Q117834684) Author: WAFA (Q2915969) in contract with a local company (APAimages), licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contract with APAimages