US claims that by using US weaponry in Gaza, Israel may have violated international law

US claims that by using US weaponry in Gaza, Israel may have violated international law

The US is becoming more and more worried about the rising number of civilian casualties in Gaza.

The United States claims that during the Gaza War, Israel may have sometimes violated international humanitarian law by using weaponry that it had provided.

According to the State Department, it is "reasonable to assess" that such weapons have been deployed in ways that are "inconsistent" with Israel's duties.

However, it also said that shipments may go on and that the US did not have all the facts necessary for its judgment.

After a delay, the report was finally delivered to Congress on Friday.

The country's use of US-supplied weapons since the beginning of last year, along with six other combatants, was examined in the study that the White House commissioned.

Although the report expressed strong criticism of some Israeli activities in Gaza, it did not state categorically that the campaign carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had violated international law.

It said that Israel had faced a "extraordinary military challenge" in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

Furthermore, it said that Israel had given it "credible and reliable" guarantees on its adherence to the lawful use of US weapons.

Furthermore, the memo said that it is sometimes "difficult to determine facts on the ground in an active war zone" about what are lawful targets since Hamas "uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes and civilians as human shields".

However, it said that these weapons had most likely been deployed "in instances inconsistent with its IHL [international humanitarian law] obligations or with standard guidelines for mitigating civilian harm" because of Israel's heavy dependence on US-made weaponry.

It stated that "Israel has the knowledge, experience, and tools to implement recommended procedures for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations" , yet "results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions as to whether or not the IDF is using them effectively in all cases" .

According to the study, Israeli attempts to prevent injury to civilians have been deemed "inconsistent, ineffective, and inadequate" by the UN and humanitarian organizations.

According to the State Department, throughout the early months of the war, Israel did not fully cooperate with US attempts to "maximise" humanitarian supplies into Gaza. But it also said that things had changed.

"We do not currently assess that the Israeli government has banned or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance," concluded the report.

Former US ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield, who contributed to the research, told the BBC that it was the first of its type and that the US will be monitoring Israeli activities "under review."

"This is a conflict quite unlike any that the world has seen," he said. "We tried to take account of all those factors in coming up alongside a very frank, but also credible judgement."

After openly threatening to withhold specific bombs and artillery rounds from Israel if it proceeded with an attack on Rafah, the last bastion of Hamas in Gaza, home to more than a million Palestinians, the report was ultimately made public a few days later.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off President Biden's concerns that the operation in Rafah would cross a "red line" and pledged that Israel would "stand alone" if needed, just before the report was released.

According to the UN, more than 80,000 Palestinians have left Rafah since Monday. Israeli tanks are allegedly stationed near populated areas and are under regular fire.

At the beginning of their operation, Israeli forces grabbed control of the Rafah border with Egypt and closed it. Meanwhile, the UN declared that it was too risky for its personnel and trucks to go to the newly reopened Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.

In reaction to Hamas' onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths and 252 hostages, Israel began a military operation in Gaza to eradicate the organization. Since then, the health ministry in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, has reported over 34,900 deaths in the region.