In a comprehensive report released yesterday titled ‘Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged’, HRW documents how Israeli authorities have caused the displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians out of Gaza’s population of 2.2 million through a systematic campaign of evacuation orders, attacks on designated safe zones and restrictions on humanitarian aid.
“Israeli forces have arbitrarily detained Palestinian healthcare workers in Gaza since hostilities began in October 2023, deported them to detention facilities in Israel, and allegedly tortured and ill-treated them,” HRW said in a report released yesterday.
The statement said that released doctors, nurses and paramedics described to Human Rights Watch their mistreatment in Israeli custody, including humiliation, beatings, forced stress positions, prolonged cuffing and blindfolding, and denial of medical care. They also reported torture, including rape and sexual abuse by Israeli forces, denial of medical ...
The attack targeted oil facilities and a power station. According to HRW, at least six people were killed, and another 80 were wounded. This took place a day after a Houthi drone hit Tel Aviv and killed one person, which HRW said may also constitute a war crime.
Doctors and families in Gaza described children, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, and hospitals ill-equipped to treat them, the rights group said.
In a statement on its X platform, the organization stated that countries should impose targeted sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel to comply with the relevant order issued by the International Court of Justice in January.
The NGO noted that the crackdown has even extended to those engaged in online pro-Palestine advocacy since October, when Israel unleashed its genocidal, ongoing war against Gaza, following the Palestinian resistance operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, the PA stated that all international and UN reports prove that Israel and its “militant settlers” carry out “daily crimes against the Palestinians as a result of absent accountability.”
The report pointed out that although 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in 15 years, the number of deaths for 2023 are already on course to surpass the 2022 levels. As of August 2023, 34 children have been killed.