GAZA WARIt Is “Reasonable to Assess” that Israel’s Gaza Campaign Has Violated International Law: State Department

The State Department told Congress Friday that the administration has concluded it is “reasonable to assess” that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has violated international law, but that the department has not found specific instances which would justify the withholding of military aid.

In its detailed report to Congress, the State Department notes that Israel “has the knowledge, experience and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations.”

But “The results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions” as to whether the Israel Defense Force (IDF) is using these tools sufficiently and effectively.

The report pointedly noted that “Israel has not shared complete information to verify” or clarify whether the IDF employed U.S.-made weapons in specific incidents alleged to have involved human rights law violations.

Still, the report, which was written on President Biden’s instructions, concludes that the assurances Israel provided in March that it would use U.S. arms consistent with international law are “credible and reliable,” and as a result there thus allow the continued flow of U.S. military aid.

The report said that conclusion was based in part on the way Hamas operates in densely populated areas y using civilians as human shields, and in part on the difficulty of collecting reliable information from the war zone. The report also emphasized that Israel has begun to seek accountability for possible violations of the law. Such an effort by an allied country is an important element in the U.S. assessment about whether to provide military aid to countries accused of human rights violations.

The report also noted that Israel had not intentionally obstructed humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Although the report was released only days after the administration had decided to delay the delivery to Israel of 3,500 bombs and review the shipments of other weapons, the administration said it was unrelated to those decisions. The delays in weapons shipment rather was related to Israel’s plan to launch an assault on the city of Rafah without having a convincing plan to minimize the killing of civilians.

The State Department’s findings will fuel even more criticism of Israel for indiscriminately killing civilians with American arms, thus violating U.S. laws governing arms transfers to foreign militaries. The United States provides Israel with $3.8 billion in annual military aid, and Congress last month approved an additional $14 billion in emergency funding.

In February Biden issued a national security memorandum, known as NSM-20, ordering the report. It required all recipients of U.S. military aid engaged in conflict to provide the United States with written “assurances” that they will comply with international law and not hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid either provided by or supported by the U.S. government.

The submitted to Congress called on the secretaries of state and defense to assess “any credible reports or allegations” that American weapons might have been used in violation of international law.

In April, an independent task force formed in response issued a lengthy report citing dozens of examples of likely Israeli legal violations. That report found what it called Israel’s “systematic disregard for fundamental principles of international law,” including “attacks launched despite foreseeably disproportionate harm to civilians” in densely populated areas.