The United States believes it is “reasonable to estimate” that Israel used American weapons to violate the laws of war in Gaza

2024-05-10 21:47:35
Pablo PardoCorresponsal Washington

Updated Saturday, May 11, 2024 – 02:39

The US State Department believes it is “reasonable to estimate” that Israel has used US weapons to violate international law in the Gaza war, although it cannot cite any specific case with complete certainty, so there are no reasons to suspend military aid to Tel Aviv. The opinion comes from the long-awaited report on the use of American weapons in the Gaza war that was initially going to be sent to the Senate on Wednesday but was later canceled without apparent explanation. Finally, it was sent to the Legislature yesterday, Friday, afternoon, at one of the times when there is less interest in the news of the entire week.

The 47-page report states that “it is reasonable to estimate” that US weapons “have been used by Israeli forces since October 7.” in a manner inconsistent with its obligations in relation to International Law Humanitarian or with established good practices to mitigate harm to civilians.” However, “the nature of the conflict in Gaza makes it difficult to estimate or reach conclusive findings from individual incidents.” October 7 is the day on which the war It began with a series of terrorist attacks by the Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed, two-thirds of whom were civilians, and another 250 were kidnapped. Some 1,100 terrorists were also killed. It has caused nearly 35,000 deaths in Gaza, the vast majority of them civilians.

The report, which the ‘Washington Post’ has described as “convoluted”, also speaks of “deep concern” on the part of Washington in relation to the obstacles placed by Israel to the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. According to the text, this is “insufficient”, although the situation has improved.

The report comes after the president of the United States, Joe Biden, has suspended the shipment of aircraft bombs to Israel due to their use in densely populated areas. Biden has also threatened to cancel deliveries of artillery shells if Israeli forces enter the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Israel’s cabinet has responded by authorizing the offensive against Rafah, although the extent of this is currently unclear.