WASHINGTON: The United States said Thursday it disagreed with New York-based Human Rights Watch's accusation that Israel was carrying out "acts of genocide" in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure.
"When it comes to a determination of something like genocide, the legal standard is just incredibly high, and so the finding in this scenario we just disagree with," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
"That does not take away from the fact that there is a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza."
The report released Thursday by the Human Rights Watch follows a similar accusation by London-based Amnesty International.
In a separate report on Thursday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" in its 14-month war in Gaza launched after a massive Hamas attack.
The medical group said it documented 41 attacks on MSF staff including air strikes on health facilities and direct fire on humanitarian convoys.
Patel distanced the United States from the finding but, in contrast to Israel, stressed the value of non-governmental organisations.
"Even within their report, they make pretty clear that they don't have the legal authority to determine intentionality" in the strikes on MSF, Patel said.
"But we continue to appreciate the important role that's played by civil society organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, and we're deeply concerned about the scale of civilian harm in this conflict," he said.
