DOJ takes a stand against war crimes in Ukraine. In Gaza war, it's been nearly silent

After the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland and the U.S. Justice Department moved quickly — and publicly — to hold Russia to account for possible war crimes.

In speeches and news conferences, including on a surprise visit to Ukraine in June 2022, Garland condemned Russia's military onslaught and the "war crimes that the entire world has seen." The attorney general has repeatedly pledged that the Justice Department would do all it could to hold the perpetrators accountable.

It wasn't just talk. Garland alsoquickly established a special team to focus on possible Russian atrocities, an effort that led to charges late last year against four Russian soldiers for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The U.S. is also assisting Ukrainian authorities with their own investigations.

The aggressive public response appeared to signal the department's newfound interest in and commitment to prosecuting war crimes.

"I think Ukraine has been a game changer because the United States sees its interests as allied with the Ukrainians," said Leila Sadat, a professor of international criminal law at Washington University in St. Louis and a former special adviser to the International Criminal Court prosecutor. "What's changed with Ukraine is we now have some political will and we have some staffing in the Justice Department to actually be able to do these cases."

It's unclear, however, whether the department's political will extends to the other major war raging right now — the one between Israel and Hamas.

Nearly six months into that conflict, Garland has said just 29 words in public about possible war crimes. Those remarks came at a news conference in December announcing the case against the