In a detailed report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused "Israel" of attacking Gaza’s water infrastructure and cutting off access to critical water supplies. “Israeli authorities were responsible for the deliberate destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, the prevention of repairs to damaged water and sanitation infrastructure, and the cutting off or severe restrictions on water, electricity, and fuel, which have likely caused thousands of deaths, that is, a mass killing, and will likely continue to cause deaths into the future,” read the report. It frames these acts as genocidal, revealing the extent of Palestinians’ mass suffering and the true face of "Israel’s" extermination campaign.

The report matters for several reasons. First, it lays bare "Israel’s" genocidal intent. Damage or destruction of Gaza’s wastewater treatment installations, and deliberate attacks against its water supply hub, are in line with the occupation’s criminal intent to deprive Gazans of life-saving necessities. It demonstrates the occupation’s willingness to step up deaths and diseases by blocking out water access, part of a systemic effort to push for the population’s ‘physical destruction.’

The findings also put the onus on the international community to tighten its screws on the occupation. For instance, there is a dire need to step up pressure on occupation authorities to comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As an occupying entity, "Israel" is bound by international law to ensure relief to Gazans through all possible means. And yet, the occupation is guilty of creating life conditions to promote the destruction of innocent Gazans, making it critical for major aid providers and international organizations to follow through on penalties. This includes Norway, which recently sponsored a UN General Assembly resolution asking the ICJ to state "Israel’s" obligations in Gaza in providing life-saving humanitarian assistance. Norway and its allies need to go many steps further: invoke serious penalties on "Israel" in the wake of HRW’s documented atrocities, and force the occupation towards compliance.

Just last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges were unclear if Israeli atrocities met “all elements of the crime against humanity of extermination.” However, the HRW confirms that Israeli actions were indeed part of a mass slaughter campaign in Gaza. Therefore, they meet the criteria for crime against humanity of extermination.

This is important to push for the criminal liability of occupation officials involved in the mass murder campaign. HRW provides a much-needed opening to muster pressure, calling on nations to openly condemn "Israel’s" war crimes, castigate it for wide-ranging human rights violations, and its brazen disregard for international legal obligations. This begs the question – how many countries are publicly calling out "Israel’s" war crimes, and forcing the occupation to end them or face consequences?

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Nations need to come to terms with their own double standards on Israeli atrocities. Look to France, which has been shielding occupation premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s war crimes, and Germany, which rejected the UN’s war crime charges against the occupation. The HRW report shows that "Israel’s" violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention and its collective punishment push run deep. This draws a clear distinction between states that are blind to "Israel’s" genocide and those that refuse to look the other way.

It is the latter that should put their weight behind international judicial bodies, and use HRW’s findings to bolster investigative mechanisms to rein in occupation criminals. The rights body is correct to indicate that the first step towards holding Israel accountable is for states to publicly condemn war crimes as war crimes, crimes against humanity as crimes against humanity, and all other variants of rights violations for what they truly are.

“[All states should] urge them [Israeli occupation officials] to immediately halt those violations and crimes and cooperate with international judicial bodies, investigative mechanisms, and UN special procedures,” said the report.

For meaningful accountability to come to the fore, it is also incumbent on states to cease their assistance and complicity in "Israel’s" genocide. The occupation could use continued military assistance and arms support to increase the death count in Gaza. HRW has already singled out the willful destruction of water infrastructure as a key factor behind thousands of possible deaths in the Strip. States that continue to push for military and arms support will further their complicity in "Israel’s" crimes, and shoulder blame for any fatalities borne on the back of that support.

From where things stand, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) show no signs of ending their glaring rights abuses. Look no further than their belligerent attempts to target Gaza’s hospitals, including Kamal Adwan, al-Awda, and the Indonesian Hospital. These are all the more reasons for Western states, including EU countries, to exercise their leverage over the occupation in a bid to dent its climate of impunity in Gaza. There is no shortage of proof points: Madrid and Dublin have called on the EU to review its trade agreement with the occupation, and suspend it if "Israel" is guilty of violating human rights. From starvation to violation of water rights and mass killings, the HRW report reveals the extent of Israeli atrocities, leaving Brussels no excuse to avoid suspending the deal. This is a bare minimum and long overdue.

Ultimately, HRW’s findings on "Israel’s" genocidal acts are an eye-opener for all that are hellbent on protecting Israeli crimes. They should press nations to exercise leverage over the occupation, strengthen engagement with investigative bodies, and hold major figures of this extermination campaign to account.