UPDATE - Israel likely used US weapons in ways 'inconsistent' with international law: State Department report

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By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US State Department's long-awaited report to Congress said Friday that it is “reasonable to assess” that Israel used US-made weapons in ways that are inconsistent with international humanitarian law.

"Nevertheless, given Israel's significant reliance on U.S.-made defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles … have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its (international humanitarian law) obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm," said the report.

It said, however, that the "nature of the conflict in Gaza makes it difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents."

"Although we have gained some insight into Israel’s procedures and rules, we do not have complete information to verify whether U.S. defense articles covered under NSM-20 were specifically used in actions that have been alleged as violations of (international humanitarian law or international human rights law during the period of the report," it said.

The report is required under a Feb. 8 National Security Memorandum, NSM-20, signed by President Joe Biden. Countries that receive US military assistance are required to give Washington "credible and reliable written assurances" that the arms they receive from the US will be used in compliance with "international human rights law and international humanitarian law."

The report was prepared based on information and reporting collected between Jan. 1, 2023, and April 2024 with certain exceptions. The agency said it appreciated "deeply" the work of journalists, humanitarian workers and other organizations operating on the ground in Gaza for providing information.

It said the Israeli army has undertaken steps to implement international humanitarian law obligations to protect civilians in its Gaza war conduct but cited reports by the UN, humanitarian organizations and experts that said, "Israeli civilian harm mitigation efforts as inconsistent, ineffective, and inadequate, failing to provide protection to vulnerable civilians who cannot or chose not to relocate."

"While Israel has the knowledge, experience, and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations, 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," said the report.

On the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the report noted the complexity of getting aid into an "active war zone" and accused Hamas of embedding in the civilian population and Israel for not "fully" cooperating.

"During the period since October 7, and particularly in the initial months, Israel did not fully cooperate with United States government efforts and United States government-supported international efforts to maximize humanitarian assistance flow to and distribution within Gaza," said the report, adding that Israel has "recently" increased humanitarian access and aid flow into Gaza.

It said the NSM-20 report served as a "useful inducement" in recent weeks in pushing Israel to increase the volume of aid entering Gaza, and called on Israel to "sustain these actions and implement a number of commitments not yet acted upon in order to stabilize humanitarian conditions in Gaza."

"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 moving forward," it said.

Israel submitted written assurances to the State Department in late March, but human rights groups said those assurances were not credible and urged the government to suspend arms transfers to Israel.

Some senior State Department officials also reportedly told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel might be violating international law and that Israel’s assurances that it submitted to the State Department regarding the use of US weapons are not “credible or reliable”.​​​​​​​

The Biden administration last week paused a planned shipment to Israel of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs amid concerns about Israel's potential ground offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have sought refuge on top of the city's pre-war population of more than 200,000.

"Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," Biden acknowledged in a CNN interview Wednesday, which said he was referring to 2,000-pound bombs.