Middle East latest: Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza Strip

Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including massive forced displacements that amount to ethnic cleansing.

A new report released by the New York-based rights group said people have been killed while evacuating under Israeli orders and in Israeli-designated humanitarian zones, where hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps.

The report said the widespread, deliberate demolition of homes and civilian infrastructure in Gaza -– some of them to carve a new road bisecting the territory and establish a buffer zone along Israel's border -– was likely to ''permanently displace'' many Palestinians.

Israel's blistering campaign in Gaza has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Around 90% of the territory's population has fled their homes, with many displaced multiple times. The Israeli offensive has also damaged or destroyed around two-thirds of homes and other buildings in Gaza, according to U.N. assessments.

Israel says it does not deliberately target civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths, saying the militants hide among civilians and operate in residential areas.

On Wednesday, 15 trucks carrying aid were allowed into northern Gaza, where aid groups have warned that a monthlong Israeli offensive could cause a famine.

The trucks entered Gaza with aid from the United Arab Emirates, according to the military body handling aid deliveries into the territory, COGAT. It said the aid consisted of food and water as well as hygiene, shelter and medical supplies.

Israeli forces have encircled the Gaza Strip's northernmost areas for the past month, saying Hamas militants have regrouped there. Experts say the Israeli military campaign has caused a new wave of displaced civilians and warn that famine is imminent or may already be happening there.

The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Lebanon's Hezbollah group began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Since then, more than 3,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 14,200 wounded, the country's Health Ministry reported. In Israel, 76 people have been killed, including 31 soldiers.

State news agency SANA said the country's air defenses were activated against a ''hostile target'' south of Homs on Thursday. It gave no further details.

The agency later reported an explosion near Damascus, adding that the cause of the blasts was not immediately clear.

JERUSALEM — Israel says 15 trucks loaded with aid have been allowed into northern Gaza, where aid groups have warned that a monthlong offensive could cause a famine.

The military body handling aid deliveries into the territory, COGAT, said the 15 trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday with aid shipped in by sea by the United Arab Emirates. It said the aid consists of food and water, as well as hygiene, shelter and medical supplies.

Over the past week, the U.N. says aid trucks have entered the north but have not reached their final destinations due to Israeli movement restrictions and hungry crowds taking items from the trucks.

Israel has scrambled to ramp up aid to Gaza after a monthlong stretch during which aid plunged to its lowest levels this year.

The U.S. Biden administration warned Israel to increase the aid last month, saying a failure to do so could lead to a reduction in military support. The White House backed down this week, citing some improvements and ruling out any reduction in arms supplies, even after international aid groups said Israel had fallen far short of the American demands.

A report released by the New York-based rights group on Thursday says Israeli evacuation orders have often caused ''grave harm'' to civilians. People have been killed while evacuating and in Israeli-designated humanitarian zones, where hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps.

''The Israeli government cannot claim to be keeping Palestinians safe when it kills them along escape routes, bombs so-called safe zones, and cuts off food, water, and sanitation,'' said Nadia Hardman, refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The report said the widespread, deliberate demolition of homes and civilian infrastructure in Gaza -– some of them to carve a new road bisecting the territory and establish a buffer zone along Israel's border -– was likely to ''permanently displace'' many Palestinians.

Human Rights Watch called on governments to stop supplying weapons to Israel and to comply with a July opinion by the International Court of Justice saying Israel's presence in the Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end.

The group says its researchers interviewed 39 displaced Palestinians in Gaza, reviewed evacuation orders Israel has released throughout the war and analyzed satellite imagery and video of attacks along evacuation routes and in ''safe zones.''

The military also released video showing a strike by an MQ-9 Reaper drone on a mobile missile launcher placed on the back of what appeared to be a truck. A person standing next to the launcher is seen running away after the strike.

''This targeted operation was conducted in response to the Houthi's repeated and unlawful attacks on international commercial shipping, as well as U.S., coalition and merchant vessels in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden,'' the U.S. military's Central Command said. ''It also aimed to degrade the Houthi's ability to threaten regional partners.''

The Houthis launched an attack this week targeted two U.S. Navy destroyers entering the Red Sea. The Americans said they ''engaged and defeated'' eight bomb-carrying drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and four cruise missiles that the Houthis used to target the vessels.

New Jersey's governor declared a drought warning. Black Hawk helicopters scooped water from a lake to dump on a burning forest in New York state. A park in Manhattan caught fire. And authorities in two states revealed criminal charges Wednesday against people accused of setting some of the wildfires that have plagued the northeast U.S. in recent weeks.