Biden admin says it's 'reasonable to assess' Israel violated International law with US arms
A new report from the United States Departments of State and Defense said that given "Israel's significant reliance on U.S.-made defense articles" it is "reasonable to assess" that some have been used in instances "inconsistent" with Israel's obligation under international law.
The assessment, which came as part of a report ordered by President Joe Biden, examined the use of U.S.-supplied arms in active conflict zones, and also said that the U.S. could not compile enough evidence to prove that the country used American defense articles in violation of international humanitarian law.
"We do not have complete information to verify whether US defense articles covered under NSM-20 were specifically used in actions that have been alleged as violations of IHL (international humanitarian law) or international human rights law during the period of the report," the document says. "The nature of the conflict in Gaza makes it difficult to address or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents."
While the report said the Israeli government has "the knowledge, experience, and tools" to implement "best practices for mitigating civilian harm," the high number of civilian casualties "raise substantial questions about whether the IDF is using them effectively in all cases."
Additionally, the report noted that Israel did not cooperate with U.S. efforts to ramp up humanitarian aid and distribution in Gaza during the initial months of the conflict, but that officials have observed improvements.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Anne Flaherty