According to a report sent to Congress late Friday, the Biden administration determined that Israel most certainly violated humanitarian law when using weapons that were supplied by the US.
Additionally, the US government stated that there was no proof Israel was preventing humanitarian aid from getting to Gaza. Congress ordered the report, which was due on Wednesday. It stated, "This is an ongoing assessment, and we will continue to monitor and respond to any challenges to the delivery of aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza going forward."
Israel responded to the Oct. 7 Hamas offensive, which claimed over 1,200 lives and left Gaza as one of the worst in the nation, by bombarding the region and reducing it to ruins.
It is estimated that around 35,000 Palestinians had died, the majority of whom were civilians.
According to the report, "it is reasonable to assess that Israeli security forces have used defense articles covered by NSM-20 since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm."
The report also stated that although Israel possesses the skills, training, and equipment necessary to apply best practices for minimizing civilian harm in military operations, the actual outcomes, such as high civilian casualty rates, raise serious doubts about whether the Israeli army applied these strategies consistently.
This week, the United States of America announced that it had put a halt to a shipment of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs because Israel had not responded to some of the United States' concerns on a military operation in Rafah. Israel has made threats to attack Rafah in recent weeks, but the US has stated both openly and privately that it opposes such an operation and that there needs to be a solid strategy in place to protect civilians.
An estimated 100,000 Palestinians were told to leave Rafah by the Israeli army in anticipation of an impending military onslaught. Over a million Palestinians are thought to reside in Rafah, where they seek sanctuary from Israeli bombardment.
A White House official stated on Thursday that "smashing into Rafah... will not advance that objective" and that the US thought there were better methods to take on "what is left of Hamas in Gaza" than launching a significant ground invasion. Additionally, the US has issued a warning, stating that the US president will decide how much support to provide Israel if Israel moves into Rafah "in a big way." National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated, "We hope they will carry out what they've told us about what they're going to do in Rafah, which is something of limited scale, scope, size, and duration."
killed civilians
According to the research, the fighting has caused an estimated 34,700 Palestinian deaths and 78,200 injuries. It has also forced the majority of Palestinians living in Gaza to flee their homes, leading to a dire humanitarian situation.
The Gaza Health Ministry, under the leadership of Hamas, is the source of these figures. They don't distinguish between civilians and militants.
According to the report, "Israel has faced an extraordinary military challenge: Hamas has deliberately embedded itself within and underneath the civilian population in order to use civilians as human shields."
Washington has made it plain that Israel must safeguard aid workers, ease the flow of humanitarian supplies, and reduce civilian casualties—even as it has backed Israel's right to defend itself against the ongoing danger from Hamas and the wider area.
