Israel, US to establish bilateral channel to discuss harm to civilians in Gaza

WASHINGTON — Israel has agreed to establish a new bilateral channel through which the US will be able to raise concerns regarding specific military incidents in which civilians have been harmed, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announces.

The establishment of the channel was one of over a dozen demands made by the US in a letter to Israel on October 13, warning Israel that failure to meet them risked a partial arms embargo.

Explaining the need for the new committee, the US explained in the letter that existing channels have been insufficient amid the mounting cases in which civilians have been killed amid Israel’s war against Hamas.

The letter stated that the US wanted to see the new channel hold its first virtual meeting by the end of October. While Israel did not meet this deadline, Miller says during a press briefing that the new channel will convene for the first time at the beginning of December.

The purpose of the channel is to assist the State Department in past and future assessments into cases where US-provided weapons were potentially used by the IDF in strikes that harmed civilians. Such probes are ongoing, but the US wanted a formal mechanism set up to better secure answers to its questions on the matter.

The US said last week that while Israel did not fully meet some of the demands listed in the letter aimed at alleviating the Gaza humanitarian crisis, it made progress on enough of them to remain in compliance with US law, which bars the transfer of weapons to countries that block aid from civilians.