The US government rejects Amnesty International's accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Thursday.
“We disagree with the conclusions of such a report. We have said previously and continue to find the allegations of genocide to be unfounded,” Patel said.
Despite this, he said that "there continues to be a vital role that civil society organizations like Amnesty International and human rights groups and NGOs play in providing information and analysis as it relates to Gaza and what's going on."
"We do not and have not concurred with these past findings regarding genocide," he added. "That does not change or alter the continued concern that we have as it relates to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. It does not change the continued concern that we have as it relates to this conflict's impact on civilians and civilian casualties. And we continue to stress at every turn that there is a moral and strategic priority for Israel to comply with international humanitarian law."
Last night, Amnesty International published a 300-page report accusing Israel of genocide following the Hamas massacre of October 7. 2023.
Israel rejected the report, with the Foreign Ministry stating, "The deplorable and fanatical organization Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies."
"The genocidal massacre on October 7, 2023, was carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization against Israeli citizens."
The Ministry stressed, "Since then, Israeli citizens have been subjected to daily attacks from seven different fronts. Israel is defending itself against these attacks acting fully in accordance with international law."