The Biden administration has detailed information about the indiscriminate bombing of Israel
The Washington Post
US officials said that they are not currently making judgments about whether Israel complies with the laws of war, the United States has already collected detailed intelligence that may allow it to make such assessments.
The United States has gathered intelligence and formulated detailed assessments regarding both Israel and Hamas ' military movements and tactics in Gaza since the war began in October, according to two people familiar with the intelligence. This included data on targeting by both sides, the weapons they appear to be using and the likely number of people killed in their ranks.
The sources said that this information was shared with members of Congress at several briefings, including with members of the intelligence committees.
State Department officials also collect reports on possible Israeli violations through a system unveiled in August called the civilian harm incident response guidelines, or CHIRG, according to Josh Paul, who resigned from the Department over concerns about its approach to the war. Paul said that some officials within the administration's Office of political and military affairs have asked the administration's legal wing "to provide information about their possible violation of international law as a result of approving these sales".
All of this points to two things: when President Joe Biden reiterated on Tuesday that Israel was using "indiscriminate shelling" in Gaza - a violation of international humanitarian law - he was probably talking about the information he had. It seems that his administration has some data that it will need to determine whether Israel is violating the rules of war or not.
State Department spokesmen declined to comment on Thursday on these details or the mechanisms of any internal deliberations, but said in public briefings that the department is monitoring the situation and collecting information. The Office of the director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
