Biden Administration Probe Of Israeli Conduct In Gaza Says Military Aid Can Continue: Reports

President Joe Biden’s administration has concluded its assessment of whether Israel is breaking international and American laws in its U.S.-backed military campaign in Gaza, and believes Israel’s conduct does not require Washington to cut off aid for the offensive, according to Axios and The Associated Press.

Both outlets cited U.S. officials to say the report was extremely “critical” of Israel. The assessment will likely be sent to Congress later Friday.

The report has major significance for Biden’s policy of sending Israel huge weapons shipments, which is largely ongoing despite Biden’s current pause on providing the country with a specific package of bombs. Drafted by officials at the State Department, the White House and the Pentagon in line with a policy Biden issued in February, the assessment is intended to review credible allegations of Israeli war crimes involving U.S. military support, as well as Israel’s hindering of humanitarian aid for Palestinians.

Lawmakers and activists who oppose Israel’s conduct — citing its devastating toll and repeated findings by outside experts that it has breached the laws of war and U.S. statutes on how countries receiving American weaponry can behave — see the release of the report as an opportunity to ramp up scrutiny of the Israeli campaign. Their concern about Biden’s approach has increased in recent days, as Israel has rolled out its final major operation in Gaza, against the southern town of Rafah, where more than 1 million sheltering Palestinians are panicking .

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told HuffPost last week, before Israel began moving into Rafah, that the government’s assessment should be measured against damning independent analysis of Israeli actions. The