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A classified assessment by the US State Department’s watchdog says Israeli military units committed “many hundreds” of potential human rights violations in Gaza.
Two U.S. officials who viewed the material described the scale of incidents to The Washington Post and said the State Department needs “multiple years” to examine the allegations. The officials spoke anonymously because the document is classified.
The report is the first U.S. government assessment that acknowledges the volume of possible violations linked to Israeli forces under the Leahy Laws.
These laws prohibit U.S. security assistance to military units with credible evidence of torture, extrajudicial killings, or other gross abuses.
Former State Department official Charles Blaha, who once oversaw Leahy Law reviews, said he worries that “accountability will be forgotten now that the noise of the conflict is dying down.”
The report was finalized shortly before Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire that included the release of Israeli hostages, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, a partial Israeli troop pullback, and a limited return of humanitarian aid.
The ceasefire technically remains in place, yet the Washington Post reported that this week marked the deadliest day since the agreement, with at least 104 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to local health authorities.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians since October 2023. Anadolu Agency (AA) reports a similar toll, saying Israel’s actions have killed over 68,500 people since October 2023.
High-profile incidents still await review. They include the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in April 2024 and the deaths of over 100 Palestinians near Gaza City in February 2024 when crowds gathered around aid trucks.
The Biden administration told Congress last year that it had not reached “definitive conclusions” on whether US weapons were used.
The United States gives Israel at least 3.8 billion dollars a year in military assistance, alongside tens of billions in supplemental aid and arms sales in recent years. This makes Israel the largest long-term recipient of US assistance.
The classified report describes a special vetting process that both Democratic and Republican administrations created for Israel. It is known inside government circles as the Israel Leahy Vetting Forum. According to officials who spoke to the Washington Post, the system involves higher-level sign-off and gives Israel a more favorable position than other countries under human rights review.
Former State Department official Josh Paul said most Leahy reviews allow one objection to block assistance.
In Israel’s case, officials must “come to a consensus on whether a gross violation of human rights has occurred.”
The working group includes the US Embassy in Jerusalem and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, two offices that often advocate for Israel inside the US system. The Israeli government can also present its own account of each incident.
Paul said the structure produces predictable outcomes and noted that “to date, the US has not withheld any assistance to any Israeli unit despite clear evidence.”
One case drew particular attention inside Washington. In 2022, 78-year-old Palestinian American Omar Assad died after Israeli forces detained him at a West Bank checkpoint.
Israeli authorities said he suffered a stress-induced heart attack after being bound and gagged. The Israeli military described the incident as a result of “moral failure and poor decision-making,” and the soldiers involved did not face criminal penalties.
The Biden administration accepted Israel’s disciplinary steps and pointed to the fact that the individuals no longer served.
Blaha said he sees no difference between the Biden and Trump administrations on this issue.
The Post also notes that Donald Trump has targeted inspectors general across the government and removed 17 of them since taking office.
The Washington Post also reports that inspectors overseeing the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development are gathering testimony from U.N. whistleblowers and aid workers about Hamas and other militant groups diverting humanitarian aid meant for Gaza.
One US official said the aim is to ensure that “not one cent of taxpayer dollars” supports militants working inside aid agencies.
The scale of alleged violations and the slow review process raise doubts about whether any Israeli unit will face consequences under US law.
The backlog sits inside a system that requires consensus among US officials and cooperation from the Israeli government.
Blaha said the fear inside expert circles is that political attention will fade now that fighting has slowed, even though the findings describe an unprecedented number of cases.
The watchdog report remains classified, and the State Department has declined to comment publicly on its contents.
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