US assessing reports of Israel harming civilians in Gaza

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) – Under a new initiative, the US is assessing reports of Israel harming civilians in its war in Gaza, the State Department said on Tuesday.

"We do seek to thoroughly assess reports of civilian harm by authorized recipients of US-provided defense articles around the world, including under the Civilian Harm Incident Response Guidance, the CHIRG," which went into effect last week, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

"We can’t comment on the specifics of ongoing reviews, but as we have said before, we are reviewing incidents in the current (Gaza) conflict according to the process set out in the CHIRG," he added.

Under the mechanism, the department is assessing Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza, Miller confirmed.

Asked if the US is assessing whether Israel is carrying out its military operation in line with international law, Miller said: "We are monitoring the evolving situation in Gaza and are examining facts as they develop as part of our regular work and normal process."

"I’m not going to get into what the internal deliberations look like," he added.

He explained: "That process is not intended to function as a rapid response mechanism. Rather, it is designed to systematically assess civilian harm incidents and develop appropriate policy responses to reduce the risk of such incidents occurring in the future, and to drive partners to conduct military operations in accordance with international humanitarian law.”

Last week the White House released a directive requiring countries receiving weapons from the US to provide "credible and reliable" written assurances to the State Department that they comply with international law.

It came as the US is facing a barrage of criticism for providing military assistance to Israel despite reports of its targeting civilians – with over 28,000 killed in Gaza – and credible reports of violations of international law.

Over the decades, Israel has by far been the largest recipient of US foreign aid.

On Monday, on the Senate floor, US Senator Chris Van Hollen said "kids in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food," adding: “In addition to the horror of that news, one other thing is true. That is a war crime. It is a textbook war crime. And that makes those who orchestrate it war criminals.”

Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, said on Monday that Israel should be pressed not to attack the southern Gaza city of Rafah, urging the bloc’s foreign partners: "If you believe the toll of death is too high, maybe you can do something about it.”

He added that the EU is not providing Israel with weapons, unlike the US.

Since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, the Israeli offensive into Gaza has killed more than 28,000 people and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.