U.S. military members discuss seeking conscientious objector status over support of Israel in Gaza

The death of 6-year-old Hind Rajab in February after she was trapped under Israeli fire in Gaza sparked international condemnation — and for Larry Hebert Jr., an active duty U.S. airman, the incident accelerated his decision to seek conscientious objector status from the U.S. military.

“She looks almost just like my daughter, and that was something that was extremely hard to grasp, is that all these children that have aspirations and dreams and lives that many of us are living and want, and it’s wholly unjustified to support what’s happening,” said Hebert, who told NBC News in an interview that he worked directly on a U.S. operation to provide weapons sales to Israel.

After witnessing footage of death and destruction in Gaza, senior U.S. Airman JuanBettancourt said he could no longer ignore the U.S. government’s role in the war, including its supply of weapons, diplomatic coverage and intelligence.

“I see the slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians,” Bettancourt said during an interview in San Antonio, Texas, “all while the world watches through their smartphones.”

A new phase in the long-simmering Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on Oct. 7 last year, after armed militants surged across the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel, a close U.S. ally, and began a devastating massacre that killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages. Israel's retaliatory military assault has heightened calls for a cease-fire amid a spiraling civilian death toll that local authorities say has claimed the lives of more than 37,000 Palestinians.

Hebert, who enlisted six years ago and is based in Rota, Spain, and Bettancourt are both in the U.S. Air Force and are currently requesting to become conscientious objectors over the United States