Israel says HRW ‘crimes against humanity’ allegations are ‘completely false’

Israel denies allegations by Human Rights Watch that the IDF has forcibly displaced Gazans and that its actions in more than a year of war amount to “crimes against humanity.”

“Time and again, Human Rights Watch’s rhetoric regarding Israel’s conduct in Gaza is completely false and detached from reality,” foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein says in a post on X.

In a report published earlier today, the New York-based rights group said it had “amassed evidence that Israeli officials are… committing the war crime of forcible transfer.”

“Statements by senior officials with command responsibility show that forced displacement is intentional and forms part of Israeli state policy and therefore amount to a crime against humanity,” Human Rights Watch added.

“Contrary to claims in HRW’s report, Israel’s efforts are directed solely at dismantling Hamas’s terror capabilities and not at the people of Gaza,” says Marmorstein.

He also charges that Hamas “uses civilians as human shields and embeds terror infrastructure within residential areas.”

“Israel will continue to operate in accordance with the law of armed conflict,” the spokesman adds.