Latest news with #US-Israel
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Israel 'without a doubt' committed war crimes in Gaza: Mathew Miller
Listen to article A former senior US official has said Israel has 'without a doubt' committed war crimes in Gaza, revealing internal disagreements within the Biden administration over Washington's handling of the conflict. In an interview with the Trump 100 podcast, Matthew Miller, who served as the State Department spokesperson under President Joe Biden, offered an unusually candid assessment of the administration's foreign policy challenges, particularly surrounding Israel's military operations in Gaza. 'It is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes,' Mr Miller said, adding that Israeli soldiers were not being held accountable and that there were ongoing policy disagreements inside the administration over the US-Israel relationship. Mr Miller served from 2023 until the end of Mr Biden's term and was responsible for publicly defending US foreign policy decisions, including during the Israel-Gaza conflict and the war in Ukraine. Speaking after leaving office, Mr Miller disclosed that there were both 'small and big' disagreements over how to manage relations with Israel, especially during the 2024 escalation in Gaza. He noted that while the US paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs in 2024 over concerns about their use in Gaza, the administration stopped short of fully suspending arms transfers. 'There were debates about whether to suspend other arms deliveries… but we found ourselves in this really tough position,' he said, pointing to Hamas's apparent calculation that growing global criticism of Israel meant it could delay ceasefire talks. Mr Miller admitted that more could have been done to pressure Israel toward a ceasefire during a deadly period in late 2024 and early 2025. 'Thousands of Palestinians were killed… was there more that we could have done? I think at times there probably was,' he said. When asked whether he considered Israel's actions a genocide, Mr Miller rejected the label but reiterated his war crimes assessment. He stressed the distinction between individual incidents and state policy: 'What is almost certainly not an open question is that there have been individual incidents that have been war crimes,' he said, while stopping short of accusing the Israeli state of systematically pursuing such acts.
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Statement By MSF Secy-Gen, Christopher Lockyear, On The Dehumanising And Ineffective Plan To Militarise Aid In Gaza
Jerusalem, 30 May 2025 – The disastrous start of the food distribution coordinated by the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation confirmed that the US-Israel plan to instrumentalise aid is ineffective. On 27 May, the first afternoon of distribution in Rafah, south Gaza, dozens of people were shot and injured as wholly insufficient amounts of basic lifesaving supplies were distributed amid chaos. Palestinians – deprived of food, water and medical aid for nearly three months - were penned in by fences as they waited to receive basic necessities for survival. This is a stark reminder of the dehumanising treatment imposed by Israeli authorities for more than 19 months. Through this dangerous and reckless approach, food is not being distributed where it's needed most but is instead directed only to areas where Israeli forces choose to amass civilians. This means the most vulnerable – especially the elderly and people with disabilities – have virtually no chance of accessing the food they desperately need. The claim that this unprincipled, failing mechanism is necessary to prevent the diversion of aid is false. Since the start of the war, MSF has directly treated patients when we have been able to bring supplies into Gaza. This initiative seems to be a cynical ploy to feign compliance with International Humanitarian Law. In practice, it uses aid as a tool to forcibly displace people as part of what appears to be a broader strategy to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip - and to justify the continuation of a war waged without limits. Meanwhile, the humanitarian system is being strangled by the restrictions imposed upon it. Israeli authorities have allowed a trickle of aid trucks into Gaza, only to obstruct them immediately after they cross the border, preventing life-saving assistance from reaching the people who need it most, including children and pregnant and lactating women. Forcing humanitarian organisations to move such inadequate amounts of aid, when the Israeli siege has created a situation of unbearable need and despair, is leading to lootings. This is the consequence of a society being pushed to the brink, its very fabric torn apart by relentless violence and deprivation. The outcome is more preventable deaths and injuries, and the impossibility of delivering aid in a way that respects people's dignity. This is part of a broader tactic to reinforce a one-sided narrative: the only way to deliver aid is to militarise it. Along with displacement orders and bombing campaigns that kill civilians, weaponising aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity. Only a lasting ceasefire and the immediate opening of Gaza's borders for humanitarian aid – including food, medical supplies, fuel and equipment – can ease this man-made catastrophe.
Economic Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Live: Kristi Noem and Israeli FM Saar hold memorial for Embassy staff killed in Washington
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends memorial with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar honouring Yaron Lishinsky and Sarah Milgrom, Israeli embassy staff killed in Washington last week. The event underscores US-Israel solidarity amid rising security concerns. Show more 03:19 03:39 04:00 02:12 09:44 01:45 04:55 03:44 03:42 03:02 03:17 11:32 06:03 05:20 10:03 03:31 03:34 04:03 01:28 01:57 03:42 02:25 01:45 03:31 01:35
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Live: Kristi Noem and Israeli FM Saar hold memorial for Embassy staff killed in Washington
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attends memorial with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar honouring Yaron Lishinsky and Sarah Milgrom, Israeli embassy staff killed in Washington last week. The event underscores US-Israel solidarity amid rising security concerns. Show more Show less
New York Post
18-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Former Hamas hostages recall horrific torture in Gaza as they call for remaining captives' freedom at NYC Israel Day parade
A pair of freed Israeli hostages recalled the torture they and others endured in Gaza as they joined the thousands marching at New York City's Israel Day parade on Sunday. Keith and Aviva Siegel joined chants from the attendees on Fifth Avenue demanding the remaining 58 hostages in Gaza be freed during the annual parade. US-Israel dual citizen Keith Siegel, 66 — who was held captive for 484 days before being freed in February — said there can be no time to waste in freeing the hostages, given the horrors he endured and witnessed inside Hamas' tunnel network. 9 Freed Israeli-American Keith Siegel called for the remaining 58 hostages in Gaza to be freed during the annual Israel Day parade on Fifth Avenue. James Keivom 9 The parade drew thousands of supporters to the Big Apple, including Gov. Kathy Hochul. James Keivom 'I experienced abuse of many different kinds,' Siegel said, alluding to his days spent shuffling around in dark tunnels and being deprived of food. 'I witnessed the abuse and the literal torture of other hostages that I saw, including women. I witnessed sexual abuse,' he added. 'I witnessed violence and humiliation and starvation and dehydration, being held in terrible conditions, not being able to clean my body for weeks at a time.' Despite the horrors in Gaza and the kidnappings on Oct. 7, which also saw 64 of his neighbors slain, Siegel considers himself 'a very lucky man' for surviving and being able to advocate for his fellow captives. 9 Keith and Aviva Siegel look out at the crowd cheering them on as they recount the horrors of captivity under Hamas. AP 9 The attendees called on the hostages, less than half of whom are believed to be alive, to be released. James Keivom 'We have lives that we can save, we must save them,' he told the crowd on Fifth Avenue. 'I feel terrible that I was released and they were left behind. I am doing anything that I can possibly do to bring them back home.' Aviva, who was freed in November 2023, described 'being in captivity underground and touching death' as 'one of the worst things that anyone can go through.' 'They have to all come home, all the 58 hostages in Gaza. They deserve a better life…We need to, as humans, push and scream for them, because they can't,' she added. 9 Wounded IDF Capt. Liam Shpliman was among the attendees at the event. James Keivom 9 Yiftach Golov, another IDF soldier, said he was thrilled to see such an outpouring of support for Israel. James Keivom The Siegels' plea was echoed by the thousands attending the parade who waved Israeli flags as they chanted 'Bring them home' and 'Hamas gotta go.' Along with the former hostages, wounded Israel Defense Forces soldiers Yiftach Golov, 41, and Liam Shpilman, 27, joined the parade. Golov, who suffered injuries to his back and left shoulder after a bomb blast in the West Bank in 2023, said he was moved to see such a large crowd in New York in support of the Jewish state. 9 The attendees waved Israeli flags as they marched on Fifth Avenue. James Keivom 'Right now, Israel is undergoing a huge rebuilding of national resilience. The story of Israel is about its people, that's what basically is the source of the strength for its people,' he said. Shpilman, who volunteered to serve in the IDF once again following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, said the war was necessary to protect Israel, no matter the cost. Shpliman was deployed along the northern border in the fight against Hezbollah, with a suicide drone ripping off his right leg and crushing his spine. 9 The annual parade is aimed at showing solidarity for the Jewish state, celebrating Jewish culture, and fighting antisemitism. James Keivom 'Israel has the right to defend herself,' he said about the current conflict. 'I can say to you that our enemies will always find a reason to attack us. In the past, the Jewish blood was cheaper. Not anymore.' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and New York Mayor Eric Adams also partook in the parade. New York City mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced ex-governor, and Scott Stringer, a former comptroller, were also at the event. 9 Participants chanted 'Bring them home' and 'Hamas gotta go.' REUTERS Debra Lea, 25, of the Upper East Side, said it was important for as many people as possible to come out to the parade, which marks the second march since the start of the war in Gaza. 'I march every single year. I think it's so important. If we can't be loud and proud in a city like New York, how can we expect that from Jews anywhere else in the world? We are setting an example,' she told The Post. Alan Stern, 90, of Long Island, agreed that it was important to show widespread support for the Jewish community during such trying times. 'I think it's important to be counted,' he said.
