The Biden administration reported on Friday that investigations into potential Israeli violations of international law were ongoing, but the United States did not have complete information to confirm.
The report prepared by the State Department said an investigation into possible violations was ongoing, but noted that the US did not have complete information to verify whether US weapons were used in alleged violations of international humanitarian law. It said:
“Given the nature of the conflict in Gaza, with Hamas seeking to hide behind civilian populations and infrastructure and expose them to Israeli military action, as well as well as the lack of USG personnel on the ground in Gaza, it is difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents. Nevertheless, given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S.-made defence articles, it is reasonable to assess that defence articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm.”
The report strongly criticises the casualties of Israel’s military campaign. The report’s findings mark another sharp moment in US-Israeli relations in the same week that President Joe Biden threatened to limit arms shipments if Israel continued its major offensive in Rafah.
The report would not prompt any change in policy. The administration has largely avoided restricting military aid to Israel, but in the run-up to the report’s release, Biden said that if Israel continues a major offensive in Gaza he would limit the transfer of certain offensive weapons to Israel. Despite these growing tensions, US officials have long rejected accusations that Israel may be committing war crimes or violating international humanitarian law in Gaza. Instead, the US has accused Hamas, a US-recognised terrorist group, of embedding militants and military equipment in civilian infrastructure.
The Administration now is to make a decision on the two issues under a February national security memorandum that Biden released under pressure from Democratic lawmakers. For the first time, the US government had to assess Israel’s behaviour during the seven-month war with Hamas in Gaza, which began after the Hamas attack on 7 October. As a result, Israel launched its counter-offensive, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 people and the destruction of much of the coastal enclave.
The report has been the subject of intense debate for months within the administration. Especially, human rights organisations have assessed that Israel’s military campaign violates humanitarian law. Amnesty International early last month said that US-supplied weapons to Israel had been used “in serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and in a manner that is inconsistent with US law and policy.”
Amanda Klasing, National Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at Amnesty International USA, said on Friday:
“Despite President Biden’s vague comments earlier this week, his administration today made its position loud and clear: it points fingers and takes swift action when an actor the US government considers an adversary violates international law, but treats the government of Israel as above the law, even while acknowledging the overwhelming evidence that Israeli forces are violating international law and killing Palestinian civilians with US weapons on US taxpayer dime.”
Humanitarian organisations also questioned the report’s findings:
“We are confused and dismayed by the Biden administration’s report to Congress, and in particular, its findings that Israel is not impeding the provision of aid to Gaza. (…) Humanitarian organisations have publicly and repeatedly detailed a litany of obstructions by Israel over the past seven months that have made it impossible to deliver humanitarian assistance to the 2.2 million people in Gaza whose lives depend on it. (…) If humanitarian aid were being adequately facilitated-as the NSM calls for-1.1 million people would not be facing catastrophic famine conditions a few miles away from available food,” according to Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president of global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps.
In addition, the report “The impact of Israel’s military operations on humanitarian actors” has a specific area of concern, citing a series of incidents, including the deadly strike on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy. After that strike, Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must do more to address the humanitarian situation or US policy would change. In recent weeks, US officials have said Israel has taken important steps since that conversation, but more needs to be done.
Yet once the “limited” Israeli military operation in Rafah was launched, access to humanitarian aid was again drastically reduced.
