Tel Aviv , Dec 18( IANS): Human Rights Watch (HRW), a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) with global foot print, has attacked Israel stating that it is deliberately creating starvation in the Gaza Strip as a means of war.

In a statement issued on Monday, the HRW said that Israel is deliberately depriving the people in Gaza access to food, water and other basic necessities, and described this denial of basic amenities to the civilian population as a war crime.

HRW also called upon the international community to act immediately on this issue.

Omar Shakir, Director of Human Rights Watch in-charge of Israel and Palestine, said in the statement that Israel has been depriving the people of Gaza of food and water since the past two months.

He said this is a policy spurred or endorsed by top-ranking Israeli officials which reflects an intent to starve civilians as a method of warfare.

The NGO cited several interviews with the survivors, comments and reports from international aid organisations and even Israeli officials to conclude that the starvation and deprivation of basic amenities to the people of Gaza was deliberate and created by Israel as a means of fighting the war.

The rights body further called upon the international community to intervene in the matter and to bring a solution to this abhorrent war crime against the civilian population of Gaza.

It may be noted that since the ground invasion by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into the Gaza Strip begun, more than 19,000 Palestinians have been killed, including women and children, while around 58,000 people have been injured.

Thousands are believed to be under the rubble of buildings in Gaza that were destroyed in bomb attacks on human settlements by the IDF.