US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel on Monday of trying to starve Palestinians in Gaza during its war with Hamas, a charge Israel said came from an “antisemitic” group that did not warrant an answer.
With no let-up in the bombardment and siege of the densely-populated enclave, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin was the latest US official to reach Israel to press its ally to transition away from high-intensity warfare.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to carry on until “absolute victory” despite foreign pressure to ease up in Gaza, where buildings lie in ruins, hunger is rife, and health authorities say around 19,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Despite a rising global outcry over the toll among Gaza’s civilians, who have nowhere to go, Israel is bent on eliminating Hamas militants behind an October 7 rampage that killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
In its report, HRW said Israeli forces were deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food and fuel, razing agricultural areas and depriving the coastal enclave’s 2.3 million people of items needed for survival.
