(Web Desk) - As Israel continues to wreak havoc in Gaza by mercilessly killing thousands of civilians, international NGOs have come forward to condemn egregious war crimes.
The latest such statement has come from the Human Rights Watch (HRW) which said that Israel has been using starvation as a weapon of war.
In a statement released on Monday, the group said Israel is purposefully denying the Palestinian people access to food, water, and other essentials.
The NGO declared that using hunger as a weapon against civilians constitutes a war crime and urged world leaders to take action.
The press release establishes that Israel is involved in the ‘deliberate use of policies to deprive Palestinians of the commodities necessary for daily existence’.
The human rights watch has started to declare it as a crime against humanity and calls for peace has grown amidst Israeli authorities calls for more aggressive approach.
“For over two months, Israel has been depriving Gaza’s population of food and water, a policy spurred on or endorsed by high-ranking Israeli officials and reflecting an intent to starve civilians as a method of warfare,” said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch.
“World leaders should be speaking out against this abhorrent war crime, which has devastating effects on Gaza’s population,” he added.
— Sophie McNeill (@Sophiemcneill) December 18, 2023The statement comes as Israel faces increasing external pressure regarding mounting civilian casualties resulting from its “indiscriminate” bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has killed 18,787 people and injured another 50,897, according to the latest figures, while thousands are believed to be buried under the rubble.
Speeches and statements from Israeli officials promoting a campaign to deliberately block access to necessary resources for the Gaza population as a strategy indicate that Israel has not made these intentions secret, HRW said.