Biden administration chose not to act on warnings that Israel may have committed war crimes in Gaza
By isabelle // 2025-11-10
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  • U.S. intelligence found Israeli military lawyers privately feared evidence of war crimes in Gaza.
  • The findings triggered a major internal U.S. debate over continuing support for Israel.
  • U.S. officials ultimately decided it remained legal to continue arms transfers.
  • This occurred despite early State Department concerns over international law violations.
A deeply troubling revelation has emerged from the halls of U.S. intelligence: the Israeli military’s own legal experts privately warned their campaign in Gaza may have produced evidence of war crimes. This confidential assessment, gathered during the first year of the conflict following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, stands in dramatic contrast to Israel’s public defense of its actions and raises serious questions about the integrity of Washington’s continued support. The intelligence suggests a profound internal conflict within the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) over the legality of tactics that have resulted in more than 68,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza health authorities. This previously unreported intelligence was described by five former U.S. officials as among the “most startling” information shared with top American policymakers during the war. It pointed to significant doubts within the Israeli military about the legality of its own tactics. The material was not broadly circulated within the U.S. government until late in the Biden administration, ahead of a congressional briefing in December 2024.

Internal doubts and legal fears

According to the report, the intelligence showed Israeli military lawyers were concerned that evidence existed that could support war crimes charges against Israel for its military campaign. This campaign has been heavily reliant on American-supplied weapons. The findings deepened concerns in Washington over Israel’s conduct, specifically that it was “intentionally targeting civilians and humanitarian workers,” a potential war crime that Israel has strongly denied. U.S. officials also expressed alarm that the mounting civilian death toll might breach international legal standards on acceptable collateral damage. This internal Israeli legal concern creates a disturbing picture of a military operation aware of its own potential legal transgressions even as it publicly maintained a stance of lawful conduct. The intelligence community’s findings provide a concrete basis for the accusations of war crimes that have been leveled against Israel in international forums.

A calculated decision to continue support

The intelligence prompted an intense interagency debate in the final weeks of the Biden administration. Officials from the State Department, Pentagon, intelligence community and White House convened to discuss the findings. A formal U.S. determination that Israel had committed war crimes would have legally required Washington to halt arms transfers and suspend intelligence cooperation, a dramatic shift in policy. Ultimately, lawyers across the U.S. government determined it remained legal to continue supporting Israel. They reasoned that U.S.-gathered intelligence itself did not conclusively prove the Israelis had intentionally killed civilians or blocked aid. Some senior Biden administration officials feared that cutting off support would embolden Hamas and delay ceasefire negotiations. This decision to stay the course exasperated some officials who believed the administration should have been more forceful in calling out Israel’s alleged abuses. The concerns were not new. Even before this specific intelligence was gathered, some State Department lawyers had repeatedly raised concerns with Secretary of State Antony Blinken as early as December 2023. They believed Israel's military conduct in Gaza likely amounted to violations of international humanitarian law. One former official criticized the legal process, stating, “They saw their job as being justifying a political decision. Even when the evidence clearly pointed to war crimes, the Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card was proving intent.” This pattern of internal concern followed by inaction underscores a willingness at the highest levels of the U.S. government to overlook potential atrocities when politically inconvenient. The Biden administration’s subsequent report in May 2024 said Israel might have violated international law but stopped short of a definitive assessment, citing the fog of war. The revelations arrive as Israel faces genocide accusations at the UN and is the subject of two international court proceedings. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued arrest warrants for top Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes. The internal U.S. debate even included discussions on whether the government would be complicit if Israeli officials were later charged in an international tribunal. This story is more than a diplomatic controversy; it is a testament to the erosion of moral authority and the rule of law. When a nation’s own military lawyers fear their actions constitute war crimes and its chief ally chooses to look the other way, it signals a catastrophic failure of accountability. The pursuit of geopolitical objectives appears to have trumped the fundamental principles of human dignity and legal responsibility, leaving a stain on the international community and setting a dangerous precedent for future conflicts. Sources for this article include: RT.com Reuters.com JPost.com
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