In the final weeks of President Joe Biden's first term, U.S. intelligence revealed discussions among Israeli officials regarding the military's use of Palestinians as human shields in Gaza. This information, reported by Reuters, indicated that the Israeli military had sent Palestinians into tunnels believed to contain explosives. The use of civilians as human shields is classified as a crime under international law, although U.S. officials stated they could not confirm whether the individuals involved were civilians or captives.

This incident is part of a broader pattern of intelligence reports concerning potential Israeli war crimes, which the Biden administration reportedly chose not to act upon, even as ceasefire negotiations were underway. Additional intelligence indicated that Israeli military lawyers had acknowledged sufficient evidence to support war crimes charges against Israel for its actions in Gaza, contradicting public statements from Israeli officials denying any illegal conduct.

High-level discussions among U.S. officials included concerns raised by then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding the possibility of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. However, these discussions did not lead to any decisive actions, despite numerous internal reports highlighting illegal conduct.

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) criticized the Biden administration for ignoring substantial evidence of war crimes involving U.S. weaponry in Gaza. Trita Parsi, an analyst at the Quincy Institute, described the reported use of human shields as a clear war crime, noting that while Biden officials privately expressed concerns, they publicly defended Israel.

Recent findings from the U.S. State Department's watchdog indicated numerous potential human rights violations by Israel in Gaza, with officials suggesting that investigations could take years due to the complex nature of such probes. Reports from various sources, including human rights groups and Israeli officers, suggest that the use of Palestinian civilians, including children, as human shields is a systematic practice.

Despite these revelations, the Biden administration approved a record level of military assistance to Israel and provided diplomatic support, which included redefining the concept of 'human shields' to suggest that Hamas, rather than Israel, was responsible for such practices in warfare.