‘Complete nonsense’: Experts debunk US claim of Israeli compliance with int’l law in Gaza

Legal experts have debunked the US administration’s claims that Washington has not found any instances of Israel violating international law since the beginning of the regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.

In a press briefing earlier this week, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby engaged in a heated discussion with a reporter regarding Israel’s crimes in Gaza over the past months, including the targeting of international aid convoys.

Asked whether the occupying regime had ever violated international humanitarian law in the past five to six months, Kirby claimed that the US State Department has “not found any incidents where the Israelis have violated international humanitarian law.”

In another briefing, the White House National Security Council spokesperson doubled down on the claim and said while the State Department is continuing to investigate the situation in Gaza, “they haven’t found an incident yet that has pointed to a violation of international humanitarian law.”

Legal experts, however, said Kirby’s claims that there is not sufficient evidence regarding the Israeli violation of international law are “complete nonsense.”

“No, Israel is not complying with international law in Gaza. Israel has unlawfully impeded humanitarian relief, and there is substantial evidence that it has unlawfully used starvation of civilians as a method of warfare,” said Adil Haque, a professor of law at Rutgers University in the US, according to Middle East Eye.

That Washington considered itself unable to assess whether Israel has violated international law in Gaza was equally implausible, other experts said.

“It is both incredible and incredibly cynical for Mr. Kirby to assert that Israel has not violated international law in its war on Gaza since 8 October,” Ardi Imseis, a professor of international law at Queen’s University in Canada, told MEE.

“The public record, including that established through the UN, is clear that Israel has and is continuing to violate all manner of its international legal obligations in the Gaza Strip.”

Time running out to prevent Israeli atrocities in Gaza: Rights groups

The Israeli regime has made clear its intention to expand military operations in Rafah.

Janina Dill, a professor at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, said that while assessing transgressions of international law was a complicated process requiring a high level of certainty, it was inconceivable that the US was unaware of Israel’s violations of international law in Gaza.

“In short, it is plausible neither that Israel’s operations in Gaza are in full compliance with IHL (international humanitarian law), nor that the US government is unaware of the serious and credible allegations of legal violations,” Dill said.

Israel has faced worldwide backlash after an Israeli airstrike on Monday killed seven aid workers working for the NGO World Central Kitchen in central Gaza.

Aid agencies, international charities and the International Court of Justice have on several occasions stated that Israel is blocking humanitarian supplies from entering the besieged Palestinian territory.

UN expert: Israel 'intentionally killed' aid workers to continue starvation of Gazans

A United Nations human rights expert says the Israeli military has “intentionally killed” aid workers of WCK in Gaza.

The United Nations has said that famine is looming in Gaza, with the NGO, Care International, reporting that at least 27 Palestinians have already died from malnutrition and dehydration.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli intensified violence against Palestinians.

Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.

More than 180 days into the onslaught, at least 33,091 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, with 75,750 others injured, mostly women and children.

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