In its annual report published Thursday, New York-based Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes and says many governments were expressing “selective outrage” over atrocities committed in the conflict in Gaza.
Several countries quickly and justifiably condemned the attacks by Hamas-led fighters on Israel on the seventh of October, saying they were horrific acts. Responding by cutting water and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million civilians and blocking the entry of all but a trickle of fuel, food, and humanitarian aid—a form of collective punishment—is a war crime.
While the Israeli military ordered more than a million people in Gaza to evacuate their homes and bombarded densely populated areas with heavy weapons, killing thousands of civilians.”
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said more than 23,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7—an estimated 70% of them women and children.
Human Rights Watch says the response from Israel’s Western allies amounted to “selective outrage.” “Several of the governments that condemned Hamas’ war crimes have been reserved in responding to those by the Israeli government,” says the report.
Lama Fakih, the Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch and co-author of the report, told VOA that the entire system of human rights is being undermined.
