The US President Joe Biden's administration has stated in a study that it is "reasonable to assess" that US weaponry provided to Israel might have been used against international humanitarian law (IHL).
According to the report, which was prepared by the State Department and presented to Congress, the US has not been provided with complete information by Israel to confirm whether US defense equipment, evaluated in the report spanning from October 7 during Hamas' attack on Israel to late-April, was specifically employed in actions alleged to breach IHL or international human rights law (as quoted by Xinhua news agency).
"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 (Israel Defense Forces) is using them effectively in all cases," the report highlighted.
The assessment also concluded that all of the participating recipient nations of US arms transfers, including Israel, had provided "credible and reliable" assurances in March on the use of US weapons in accordance with international law, which justified the weapons' continued transfer.
In a presidential memorandum dated February, Biden promised his administration would "provide periodic Congressional reports to enable meaningful oversight" of the US arms transfer to other countries. The memorandum also required the Secretary of State to compile the report. Some Democratic MPs are said to have lobbied for the study in order to put pressure on Israel on the humane treatment of people in Gaza.
The deadline of May 8th for the State Department to submit the report to Congress was missed. Recently, there has been pressure on the agency to provide an explanation for the delay.
Read also | US Denies Russian Claims of Meddling in Indian Electoral Process
Read also | Senior Conservative Attributes Tory Turmoil to PM Sunak's Leadership
