Palestinians flee the center of Rafah, Gaza, on Thursday, May 9, 2024.A Photo by hmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images

By Lauren Markoe May 11, 2024

The State Department Friday said Israel likely violated international law in Gaza but is still eligible to receive military aid.

Releasing a report both critical and forbearing, it described incidents in which Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has likely been “inconsistent” with humanitarian law “or with best practices for mitigating civilian harm.”

Many accused the department, pairing its criticism of Israel with a green light for continuing to supply military aid, of trying, as one senator put it, “to have it both ways.”

The report, ordered by President Joe Biden, said the Israel Defense Forces had the experience and technology necessary to protect noncombatants, but “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.”  

But it also said the department could not determine whether U.S. weapons had been used in alleged incidents of human rights violations. It cited the difficulty of obtaining credible evidence from the war zone, Hamas’ tactic of operating in the midst of civilians and the absence of  “complete information” from Israel.

It also said that Israel is not intentionally trying to thwart the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The report reflects the challenging political calculus Biden faces as he seeks a second term. Democrats to his left — in Congress and in primaries — accuse him of coddling Israel as the death toll in Gaza passes 35,000.

Pro-Israel constituencies blast him for trying to stay Israel’s hand as it tries to eliminate Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack — which killed 1,200 — and to rescue the hostages taken that day. Biden has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off Israel’s planned invasion of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of the J Street, the lobby that calls itself “the political home of pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans,” said in a statement that he is “disappointed” in the report. “The administration,” he said, “has avoided the tough question of what to do in the face of what amount to obvious failures on the part of the Israeli government to comply with American and international law.”

Republican Rep. Steve Scalise, the House majority leader, said in a statement: “Despite President Biden’s desire to turn his back on Israel while they are at war, even his State Department today acknowledged the truth: Israel is fighting this war as humanely as possible.”

He and many other Republicans and Israel supporters took issue with Biden’s decision earlier this week to delay the delivery of a shipment of large bombs to Israel over concerns over how they would be deployed.

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