Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Thursday that Israel’s policy on Gaza is “inch[ing] closer to extermination,” urging the international community to condemn Israel’s plans and prevent further atrocities.

HRW interim executive director Federico Borello stated: “Hearing Israeli officials flaunt plans to squeeze Gaza’s 2 million people into an even tinier area while making the rest of the land uninhabitable should be treated like a five-alarm fire in London, Brussels, Paris, and Washington.” He added: “Israel’s blockade has transcended military tactics to become a tool of extermination.”

On May 5, Israel unveiled its plan to reoccupy Gaza indefinitely if no deal was agreed on with Hamas by May 15. This plan for Gaza, referred to as “Gideon’s Chariots” by Israeli officials, “involves overwhelming force by land, sea, and air, including the use of heavy machinery” to “flatten” Gaza’s infrastructure and confine the 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza to a narrow patch of land that will be controlled and monitored by Israeli forces.

HRW stated that the plans to destroy Gaza’s infrastructure and concentrate the remaining Palestinian population in a sliver of land “demand a more robust response from other governments and institutions, especially the United States, France, Germany, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.” The statement noted the legal obligations of these countries as signatories of the Genocide Convention. HRW argued that the continued weapons sales, military assistance, and diplomatic support to Israel are legally sanctioned measures evidencing complicity with genocide as codified under the Genocide Convention.

The rights group also called for the immediate enforcement of the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli officials. HRW also urged the review and revision of the EU-Israel Association agreement, the UK-Israel Trade Partnership Agreement, and the UK’s 2030 roadmap for UK-Israel bilateral relations in light of Israel’s increasingly genocidal actions. Lastly, HRW asked Palestinian armed forces and Israeli authorities to mutually release the hostages they both unlawfully hold.

Israeli attacks on Palestinians have been systematically increasing since October 7, 2023, and are now so severe that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk recently declared that their attacks endanger the existence of Palestinians. Aid agencies have been denied entrance into Gaza since March 2, 2025, causing what the UN has termed “an escalating hunger crisis.” This policy was defended by Ben Gvir, who stated on X that Israel would continue to deny humanitarian aid to Gaza until all hostages are released. Humanitarian assistance continues to be denied by the Israeli state.