Arms Control, Government Relations

No Weapons for War Crimes

July 30, 2024 | by Amnesty International USA |Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories

Since October 2023, Amnesty International has documented a pattern of unlawful attacks by Israeli forces in the occupied Gaza Strip, including indiscriminate attacks, that failed to distinguish between civilians and military objectives, and which caused mass civilian casualties. These investigations have verified the use of U.S.-made munitions and components in at least four unlawful attacks by Israeli forces that killed and injured dozens of Palestinian civilians, including many children.

  • October 10, 2023 – Israeli strike on a family home in Deir al-Balah killed 21 members of the al-Najjar family and three neighbors. A Boeing JDAM kit was used with a bomb that likely weighed 2,000lb.
  • October 22, 2023 – Israeli strike on three family homes north of Deir Al-Balah killed 18 members of the Mu’eileq family and one neighbor. A Boeing JDAM kit was used with a bomb that likely weighed at least 1,000lb.
  • January 9, 2024 – Israeli strike hit the top two floors of the Nofal family five-story building in Tal Al Sultan in Rafah using a Boeing GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb. The attack killed 18 Palestinian civilians and wounded eight others.
  • April 19, 2024 – Israeli strike on four-story home of the Abu Radwan family in Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah killed nine family members and injured five relatives. Remnants of the bomb’s precision guidance package were at least partially manufactured by U.S. defense contractor AeroAntenna.

Amnesty International did not find evidence in these cases that there had been military targets in or around the locations. Amnesty has documented a longstanding pattern of attacks by Israeli forces that have struck civilians and civilian objects throughout the ongoing offensive and is consistent with the pattern of attacks during the 2008-9, 2014, and 2021 conflicts in the Gaza Strip with no accountability. More than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza remain at risk of genocide and a famine engineered by Israeli authorities.

The U.S. has continued to provide billions of dollars in foreign military funding to the Israeli government and transferred weapons at a rapid pace. The U.S. has a clear responsibility to ensure that weapons it provides are not used to commit violations under U.S. and international law. Given the overwhelming evidence that U.S.-weapons are being used to commit violations as part of a broader pattern of indiscriminate attacks, the U.S. must immediately suspend the supply, sale, and transfer of all arms to Israel.

Amnesty International USA calls on members of Congress to:
  • Vote no to sending billions of dollars in military funding and weapons to the Israeli government, including via Joint Resolutions of Disapprovals under the Arms Export Control Act.
  • Ensure the U.S. applies its laws and policies properly and universally to prevent weapons transfers that risk facilitating violations of international humanitarian or human rights law, including section 502B and 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, the “Leahy Law”, the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, the Civilian Harm Incident Response Guidance, and National Security Memorandum-20.
  • Urgently fund humanitarian assistance to meet the ever-increasing needs of Palestinians in Gaza and restore funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees as a vital lifeline for aid.
  • Call publicly for the U.S. to use all leverage to effectuate an immediate and permanent ceasefire and appeal to the Israeli government to lift its unlawful siege and blockade and allow for unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.