Former US State Department spokesman says Israel ‘without a doubt’ committed war crimes in Gaza

A former US State Department spokesman said Israel “without a doubt” committed war crimes in Gaza, marking a significant departure from his previous official position during the Biden administration, Anadolu reports.

Matthew Miller, who served as State Department spokesman under President Joe Biden, made the comments during an interview with Sky News’ Trump 100 podcast that aired Monday.

Asked directly if there is a genocide in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 54,000 people since October 2023 and created risk of a famine, Miller said he did not believe it constituted genocide but expressed certainty about war crimes.

“I don’t think it’s a genocide, but I think it is, without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes,” Miller said.

The former spokesman acknowledged the constraints of his previous role, explaining he could not express personal opinions from the podium.

READ: Hamas response to US proposal on Gaza ceasefire ‘totally unacceptable’: US envoy Witkoff

“When you’re at the podium, you’re not expressing your personal opinion. You’re expressing the conclusions of the United States government,” Miller said. He said the US government has not officially concluded Israel committed war crimes.

 Individual incidents vs. state policy

Miller, however, distinguished between systematic state policies and individual military actions, suggesting Israeli soldiers committed war crimes in specific incidents rather than as part of deliberate government policy.

“There have been individual incidents that have been war crimes, where members of the Israeli military have committed war crimes,” he said.

He criticized Israel’s accountability measures, saying: “We have not yet seen them hold sufficient numbers of the military accountable.” He added it is “an open question” whether they will ever do that.

READ: British doctor calls conditions at Gaza hospital a ‘real massacre’