In a long-awaited report, the State Department lays out numerous suspected international humanitarian violations by Israel in its war on Gaza, yet suggests no changes in policy or consequences.
The Biden administration concludes it is likely that Israel used U.S.-supplied weapons in “incidents that raise concerns” about the country’s legal compliance, while crediting Israel for investigating them.
The report also concludes Israel is not currently blocking humanitarian aid, despite “deep concerns” about “action and inaction” by the government resulting in aid delivery to Gaza that “remains insufficient.”
The State Department said it’s “reasonable to assess” that Israeli forces have used U.S. weapons in ways “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law or “best practices for mitigating civilian harm.” But at the same time, the report hedges, “it is also important to emphasize that a country’s overall commitment” to international law “is not necessarily disproven by individual [international humanitarian law] violations, so long as that country is taking appropriate steps to investigate and where appropriate determine accountability.”
The report also hedges on Israel’s responsibility for civilian casualties in Gaza. The U.S. intelligence community assessed there was “no direct indication of Israel intentionally targeting civilians,” but also “that Israel could do more to avoid civilian harm.”
“While Israel has the knowledge, experience, and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations, the results on the ground, including high........