White House spokesman John Kirby told a reporter at a press briefing that the United States had investigated several actions by Israeli military in Gaza and had not found “any incidents where the Israelis have violated international humanitarian law.”
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby made the remarks in response to a question from Niall Stanage, an Irish-born columnist for The Hill.
Stanage asked Kirby why the White House did not impose any conditions on Israel’s use of weapons, and cited a presidential memorandum issued February 8, that said the administration’s policy was to “prevent arms transfers that risk facilitating or otherwise contributing to violations of human rights or international humanitarian law.”
“Is firing a missile at people delivering food and killing them not a violation of international humanitarian law?” Stanage asked, referring to the Israeli airstrikes that mistakenly killed seven aid workers traveling in Gaza on Monday.
Kirby rejected the assertion, saying: “Your question presumes, at this very early hour, that it was a deliberate strike, that they knew exactly what they were hitting, that they were hitting aid workers and did it on purpose, and there there’s no evidence of that. I would remind you, sir, that we continue to look at incidents as they occur. The State Department has a process in place. And to date, as you and I are speaking, they have not found any incidents where the Israelis have violated international humanitarian law.”
“They have never violated international humanitarian law, ever, in the past five to six months?” Stanage asked.
“The State Department has looked at incidents in the past and has yet to determine if any of those incidents violate international humanitarian law,” Kirby replied
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