Did Israeli lawyers warn of Gaza war crimes? What US intel found and why Biden admin was worried

American intelligence agencies learned last year that Israeli military lawyers had raised internal warnings about potential evidence supporting war crimes charges linked to Israel’s Gaza operations, which relied heavily on US-supplied weapons.According to a Reuters report citing former officials, this intelligence was among the most alarming assessments shared with US leaders during the conflict. It revealed that Israeli military officials themselves had private doubts about the legality of their tactics, even as Israel publicly defended its actions as legitimate self-defence against Hamas.

Biden administration delayed sharing intelligence

Reports of internal dissent within the Biden administration over Israel’s Gaza campaign emerged during the final weeks of its tenure.

Two former US officials said the intelligence at the centre of the dispute was only circulated more broadly late in the term, shortly before a congressional briefing in December 2024.The findings deepened concerns in Washington that Israel’s military campaign, justified as an effort to eliminate Hamas fighters embedded in civilian areas, may have deliberately targeted civilians and aid workers, an allegation Israel has repeatedly denied.

According to former officials, the Biden team eventually briefed incoming President Donald Trump and his aides on the intelligence, but the new administration reportedly showed little interest once it took office in January, reaffirming its close alignment with Israel.

Legal warnings and internal debates

Even before the intelligence surfaced, several State Department lawyers had cautioned Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel’s actions in Gaza could breach international humanitarian law.

By December 2023, some of these lawyers told Blinken they believed Israel’s conduct likely amounted to war crimes, though the administration never made a formal determination.Three former US officials told Reuters that the internal debate over whether Israel had committed war crimes effectively ended after government lawyers concluded that US military and intelligence assistance could legally continue. They reasoned that the US had not independently gathered evidence proving Israel had violated the laws of armed conflict.Senior officials reportedly feared that formally accusing Israel of war crimes would compel Washington to suspend military aid and intelligence cooperation—an outcome they believed could strengthen Hamas, delay ceasefire efforts, and weaken US leverage in the region.Officials further argued that US intelligence had found no conclusive proof Israel deliberately targeted civilians or obstructed aid deliveries, both key factors in establishing legal culpability.“They saw their job as being justifying a political decision,” a former US official was quoted as saying by Reuters. “Even when the evidence clearly pointed to war crimes, the Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card was proving intent,” another added.

UN inquiry finds acts of genocide

In September, a United Nations commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had committed acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The commission said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” Israel had committed four of the five acts defined as genocide under international law since its war with Hamas began in 2023.The revelations have renewed scrutiny of Washington’s continued support for Israel’s military campaign, amid mounting international calls for accountability and restraint in Gaza.