The Biden administration said Friday that Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
The administration’s finding of “reasonable” evidence to conclude that the U.S. ally had breached international law in its conduct of the war in Gaza, released in a summary of a report being delivered to the U.S. Congress on Friday, represents the strongest such statement from Biden officials.
But the caveat that the U.S. was unable immediately to link specific U.S. weapons to individual strikes by Israeli forces in Gaza could give the administration leeway in any future decision on whether to restrict U.S. provisions of offensive weapons to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did an interview with TV personality Dr. Phil about his views on the war with Hamas and what will happen next in Gaza.
The administration’s findings, a first-of-its-kind assessment that was compelled by U.S. President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress, comes after seven months of airstrikes, ground fighting and aid restrictions that have killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza.
While U.S. officials were unable to gather all the information they needed on specific strikes, “given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S.-made defence articles, it is reasonable to assess that defence articles … have been used by Israeli security forces since Oct. 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” the report said, using an abbreviation for international humanitarian law.
While Israel’s military has the experience, technology and know-how to minimize harm to civilians, “the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions as to whether the IDF is using them effectively in all cases,” the report said.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas led a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people — with multiple Canadians among the dead — and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
In response to the attack, Israel launched a campaign in Gaza aimed at destroying the militant group and its infrastructure.
Political pressures for Biden
Biden has tried to walk an ever-finer line in his support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Hamas.
The U.S. president has faced growing rancour at home and abroad. Tensions have been heightened further in recent weeks by Netanyahu’s pledge to expand the Israeli military’s offensive in the crowded southern city of Rafah, despite Biden’s adamant opposition.
Biden is in the closing months of a tough re-election campaign against Donald Trump. He faces demands from many Democrats that he cut the flow of offensive weapons to Israel, and denunciation from Republicans, who accuse him of wavering on support for Israel at its time of need.
The presidential directive, agreed to in February, obligated the U.S. Defense and State departments to conduct “an assessment of any credible reports or allegations that such defence articles and, as appropriate, defence services, have been used in a manner not consistent with international law, including international humanitarian law.”
The agreement also obligated them to tell U.S. Congress whether they deemed that Israel has acted to “arbitrarily to deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly,” delivery of any U.S.-supported humanitarian aid into Gaza for starving civilians there.
Lawmakers and others who advocated for the review said Biden and previous U.S. leaders have followed a double standard when enforcing U.S. laws governing how foreign militaries use U.S. support, an accusation the Biden administration denies. They had urged the administration to make a straightforward legal determination of whether there was credible evidence that specific Israeli airstrikes on schools, crowded neighbourhoods, medical workers, aid convoys and other targets, and restrictions on aid shipments into Gaza, violated the laws of war and human rights.
Their opponents argued that a U.S. finding against Israel would weaken it at a time it is battling Hamas and other Iran-backed groups. Any sharply critical findings on Israel are sure to add to pressure on Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military, and further heighten tensions with Netanyahu’s government over its conduct in its war against Hamas.