Biden Administration Report Won’t Say Israel Violates International Law, Official Says

The Biden administration is still pulling its punches when it comes to Israel.

President Joe Biden, despite pressure from Democratic lawmakers and his insistence that Israel avoid a major ground operation in Rafah, will not use a much-anticipated report to declare that Israel has violated international laws in its war with Hamas, a current U.S. official and former U.S. official say.

Instead, the administration plans to say that Israel may have acted in ways that are concerning and that it’s “reasonable” to believe that U.S. weapons may have been used in the deaths of civilians, according to the current and former officials, who were granted anonymity to speak ahead of an announcement.

The report, which was originally slated to be released Wednesday, is expected to state that Israel may have used U.S. weapons in ways that are inconsistent with best practices to reduce civilian casualties and international humanitarian laws without going so far as to say Israel is in violation, the official and former official said.

It was still being edited as of early Friday afternoon, according to another U.S. official familiar with the document, who warned of possible last minute changes. It also comes as Biden recently acknowledged that U.S. bombs had killed civilians in the conflict and has started withholding weapons from Israel to pressure it to avoid a major offensive in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

But the findings also are likely to outrage — if not necessarily surprise — Democratic lawmakers, progressive activists, humanitarian leaders and others who say the U.S. cannot keep assisting Israel as it bombards Gaza in its effort to root out Hamas militants.