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October 31, 2024

State Dept. Largely Ignoring 500 Reports of U.S. Weapons Used to Kill or Injure Palestinians in Gaza
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The Biden administration has received nearly 500 reports of Israel using
U.S.-supplied weapons for attacks that killed and maimed civilians in
the Gaza Strip, but it has failed to comply with its own policies
requiring swift investigations of such claims. That's according to The
Washington Post, which reports some of the cases presented to the State
Department likely amount to violations of U.S. and international law.
State Department policy requires officials to complete an investigation
and recommend action within two months of launching an inquiry. Despite
that requirement, none of the hundreds of reports has generated an
active response, and most cases remain open. Many claims are awaiting a
response from the Israeli government, which the State Department
consults to verify each case's circumstances.

On Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller defended the
delays, calling it "incredibly difficult" to determine whether U.S.
weapons were being used by Israel to commit war crimes. Miller also
criticized Israel for failing to facilitate food and other humanitarian
aid delivery to Palestinians in Gaza.

Matthew Miller: "The situation still remains not at a level that we find
acceptable. And that's not just about the level of aid that is making it
to Gaza, but also the distribution inside Gaza. And we continue to see
breakdowns in communication between Israeli forces and U.N. agencies."

Despite the admission, the U.S. has not taken any action against Israel
for blocking the distribution of aid.


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