NEW YORK, October 10. /TASS/. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes, according to a statement published on the organization’s website.

The HRW pointed out that the "Palestinian armed group’s apparent deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attacks, and taking of civilians as hostages amount to war crimes under international humanitarian law." Human Rights Watch added that "Israeli authorities’ cutting off electricity to Gaza and other punitive measures against Gaza’s civilian population would amount to unlawful collective punishment, which is a war crime." "The laws of war apply to all parties to a conflict, irrespective of the lawfulness of their going to war or imbalances of power between the parties," the statement added.

According to Human Rights Watch, "Israel has repeatedly carried out indiscriminate airstrikes that killed scores of civilians - wiping out entire families - and strikes that targeted civilians or civilian infrastructure, including destroying high-rise Gaza towers full of homes and businesses, with no evident military targets in the vicinity."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants entered Israel from the Gaza Strip. According to the latest official data, almost 700 Palestinians have been killed since the outbreak of renewed tensions, while over 3,700 have suffered wounds. In Israel, more than 900 people have lost their lives and about 2,600 have been wounded.

Hamas described its operation as a response to aggressive actions by the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel declared a state of readiness for war and announced a total blockade of Gaza.