The United States has dismissed Amnesty International’s report accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, describing the findings as unfounded.
“We disagree with the conclusions of such a report. We have said previously and continue to find the allegations of genocide to be unfounded,” said State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel during a press briefing on Thursday.
While recognising the vital role of organisations like Amnesty International, Patel characterised the genocide claim as an opinion and noted it does not change Washington’s concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
When questioned about how the US determined the allegations were baseless, Patel declined to elaborate, citing a lack of legal expertise. He mentioned ongoing processes such as the Leahy Law, Civilian Harm Incident Response Guidance (CHIRG), and the Conventional Arms Transfer policy but provided no formal conclusions regarding genocide.
Amnesty’s report accused Israel of systematically targeting Palestinian civilians and infrastructure in Gaza, claiming sufficient basis to conclude acts of genocide. It highlighted the cumulative effects of repeated Israeli attacks and dehumanising rhetoric by officials.
The report follows recent developments, including arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
Patel reiterated calls for all parties to seek an agreement to end the ongoing conflict, emphasising the need to mitigate harm to civilians in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel has denied Amnesty’s allegations, dismissing the report as biased and fabricated.
