The US military could face legal responsibility for assisting Israeli forces that commit war crimes, Human Rights Watch [8] (HRW) stated Aug. 27. Direct participation by US forces in military operations in Gaza since October 2023, including by providing intelligence for Israeli strikes and conducting extensive coordination and planning, has made the United States a party to the conflict, HRW found. Members of the US military could also be individually implicated for the crimes, according to the rights group. "The direct US participation in military operations with Israeli forces means that as a matter of international law, the United States has been and currently is a party to the armed conflict in Gaza," said Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch.
Under international humanitarian law, the conflict between Israel and Palestinian forces in Gaza is classified as a non-international armed conflict. Article 3 of the Geneva Convention [10] states that in a non-international armed conflict "violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture remain prohibited." International law does not set out specific criteria for determining when a country assisting another country in a non-international armed conflict itself becomes a party to such a conflict, but HRW states that "direct participation in combat operations is a clear example."
Furthermore, the Draft Articles on State Responsibility for Internationally WrongfulActs [11] provide in Article 16 that:
A State which aids or assists another State in the commission of an internationally wrongful act by the latter is internationally responsible for doing so if: (a) that State does so with knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act; and (b) the act would be internationally wrongful if committed by that State.
Human Rights Watch has reported that the Trump administration was consulted by the Israelis prior to [12]air-strikes in Gaza. US military officials have also provided "actionable intelligence" to Israel, as well as providing arms and other aid to the country. HRW warned that these actions violate both the Geneva Convention and the Draft Articles on State Responsibility for Internationally Wrongful Acts.
From JURIST [13], Aug. 27. Used with permission.
Note: UN human rights experts have also warned [14] the US and other Western powers of legal liabity for arms exports to Israel. The Biden administration faced litigation [15] over complicity with genocide [16] in Gaza.
