A classified report by a US government watchdog has revealed “many hundreds” of potential human rights violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces during their devastating war on Gaza — marking an unprecedented acknowledgment by a US institution of the magnitude of Israel’s crimes.

According to The Washington Post, the report — completed just days before the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas — was prepared by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). It reportedly documents an extensive pattern of Israeli actions that could constitute gross violations of international humanitarian law, including attacks on civilians, medical facilities, and essential infrastructure.

Two US officials familiar with the findings told the paper that the scope of the alleged violations is so vast that “it would take the State Department multiple years to review” all the incidents. The officials expressed concern that the existing review process is largely deferential to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), raising serious doubts about the possibility of genuine accountability.

This marks the first time in US history that an internal government report has formally recognized the extent of Israeli violations in Gaza. The findings reportedly cover numerous incidents that fall under the Leahy Laws — US legislation that prohibits military aid to foreign forces credibly accused of gross human rights abuses such as torture, extrajudicial killings, and collective punishment.

The Leahy Law, named after former Senator Patrick Leahy, is meant to ensure that American weapons and funds are not used to commit atrocities. Yet, despite these clear prohibitions, Israel continues to receive at least $3.8 billion annually in US military assistance, in addition to tens of billions in emergency and special aid packages over recent years — aid that has directly fueled the destruction of Gaza and the killing of more than tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.

Human rights advocates say the watchdog report exposes Washington’s complicity in Israeli war crimes and its double standards on human rights enforcement. While the US has routinely sanctioned other nations over far lesser violations, it has shielded Israel from accountability, repeatedly blocking UN investigations and vetoing ceasefire resolutions.

“The fact that it took a classified report to even admit what the world has been witnessing for months — the mass killing of civilians, deliberate targeting of hospitals, and destruction of entire neighborhoods — shows how deep the denial runs in Washington,” said one rights campaigner.

The report’s revelations are expected to intensify pressure on the Biden administration to suspend military aid to Israel in accordance with the Leahy Law and international law obligations. However, analysts warn that bureaucratic delays and political shielding may once again allow Israel to evade consequences for what many international jurists have called genocidal actions in Gaza.

As the people of Gaza struggle to recover from months of relentless bombardment, the watchdog’s findings serve as a rare moment of truth from within the US system — a recognition that Israel’s impunity is not only moral and legal failure but also a stain on Washington’s own credibility in the eyes of the world. (ILKHA)