US President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in Gaza “is no substitute for the urgent action governments need to take to protect civilians and support justice after two years of grave abuses in Israel and Palestine”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

“The 20-part plan does not directly address human rights issues or accountability for serious crimes committed since October 7, 2023,” the HRW said in a statement.

“Governments should be taking immediate measures, including arms embargoes, targeted sanctions, and support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), in accordance with their international legal obligations to prevent and stop violations by the parties regardless of whether the Trump plan goes forward,” it demanded.

“The worsening repression on the ground as decades of ‘peace processes’ played out should have made clear the folly of relying solely on peace plans to address grave abuses,” said HRW’s Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir.

“Governments urgently need to take concrete action to protect Gaza’s over two million Palestinians and the Israeli hostages.”