Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Thursday that Israel is committing the crime of extermination and acts of genocide by depriving the civilian population of Gaza of the necessary amount of water to survive.
HRW said in a press release that its 179-page report found “that Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinians in Gaza of access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needed for basic human survival.”
“Israeli authorities and forces cut off and later restricted piped water to Gaza; rendered most of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure useless by cutting electricity and restricting fuel; deliberately destroyed and damaged water and sanitation infrastructure and water repair materials; and blocked the entry of critical water supplies,” HRW said.
The report found the restrictions on water have likely caused thousands of deaths. “Doctors and nurses told Human Rights Watch that they had seen numerous infants, children, and adults die from a combination of malnutrition, dehydration, and disease,” the report reads.
HRW said it spoke with 66 Palestinians in Gaza, who discussed the near-impossibility of securing water for themselves and their families. “If we can’t find drinkable water, we drink the seawater,” one father displaced in Rafah told the organization in December 2023. “It happened to me many times when I had to drink the seawater. You don’t understand how much we are suffering.”
The report found that, on average, Palestinians in Gaza live with 2-9 liters of water per day for their drinking, cooking, and personal washing needs, far below the 50-100 liters per day the World Health Organization (WHO) says in the minimum people need to meet their most basic needs. In protracted emergency situations, the WHO says a minimum amount of 15 liters of water per person per day for drinking and washing is needed.
HRW said Israeli authorities have “deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the population in Gaza.” By doing so, Israeli officials are “responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide.”
HRW said this “pattern of conduct, coupled with statements suggesting that some Israeli officials wished to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, may amount to the crime of genocide. “
The HRW report comes after Amnesty International released a 296-page report that concluded Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The US government, which is implicated in Israel’s crimes due to the huge amount of US military aid to Israel, denied Amnesty’s conclusion and said on Thursday that it “disagreed” with HRW’s report.
“When it comes to a determination of something like genocide, the legal standard is just incredibly high, and so the finding in this scenario we just disagree with,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
Who will have ears to hear?
“Christmas invites us to renew our commitment to the fundamental values of solidarity and respect for human dignity everywhere in the world. We will not be passive spectators. We have not been, and we will not be passive spectators in the face of so much injustice and pain, consciously inflicted on children, women, the elderly and innocent people of all ages. In the defense of humanity, there is no room for half measures. It is in the defense of humanity that we are meeting here today. We are deeply hurt and shocked by what is happening in Gaza – and not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank. It seems that we have to choose between types of barbarism, but we do not have to choose, I choose humanity, and what Benjamin Netanyahu is doing is a war crime, a crime against humanity. From Chile, we call on the entire world to reflect on this suffering during a time of year that symbolizes family unity, togetherness, joy and reflection. We urge the international community, particularly the most powerful nations, to go beyond mere words and take concrete action to end this massacre.”
— Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, 12/17/24
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Posted at X, by Sir Escanor, Hopium Slayer, “Hypocrisy in the Truther Community”, 12/19/24:
“You’re not a truther if you let your friends—or anyone with similar worldviews—grift, lie, or deceive just because they align with your beliefs. That’s not how this works, and it never will. Keeping each other honest isn’t betrayal; it’s loyalty to the truth. Real truth is not just a weapon you swing at your enemies—it’s only as pure as the intentions guiding it. If you can’t hold your own accountable, what the hell are you even doing here? Truth without integrity is just another tool for manipulation, and when you let it slide, you’re no better than the very system you claim to be fighting. The Snake didn’t lie to Eve—it told her a twisted truth, just enough to destroy everything. That’s the same damn playbook. And if you’re sitting there watching it happen, you’re part of the problem. This is how things always rot from the inside. We get comfortable, we let sh*t slide, thinking we’re protecting the ‘community.’ But all we’re really doing is letting the poison fester. Truth dies in silence, and if you don’t call it out, you’re digging its grave with your own hands. Every lie you let slide, every grift you excuse, every deceit you ignore—it all adds up, chipping away at the foundation of what we’re fighting for. Silence isn’t neutrality; it’s complicity. Grow some balls and rebuke bullsh!t. It’s that simple.”
https://x.com/EscanorReloaded/status/1869916296453722517
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