The Pentagon chief has rejected the notion that the Israeli regime is committing genocide in Gaza where nearly 34,000 people have been killed since the start of an Israeli invasion in October.
Speaking in a hearing in the US Senate on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that there is no evidence that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Austin made the remarks after Republican Senator Tom Cotton asked him to respond to protesters interrupting the committee and calling on the US government to stop funding the Israeli war on Gaza which they referred to as genocide.
“We don’t have any evidence of genocide,” he said.
That comes as almost all governments in the world, except for the US and a few allies, have condemned the Israeli regime’s brutal actions in Gaza while many more have said they are tantamount to genocide.
Authorities in top international organizations like the United Nations have repeatedly stated in recent months that the massive scale of killings committed by Israel in Gaza does not match a Palestinian resistance operation in the occupied territories more than six months ago that led to some 1,200 deaths among Israeli settlers and military forces.
South Africa has also lodged a complaint against the Israeli regime in the International Court of Justice accusing it of carrying out a genocide in Gaza.
Austin’s remarks about the Israeli regime and its aggression on Gaza come as the US government is under growing public pressure to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
However, Austin told the Senate hearing that Washington is still committed to defending Israel against Palestinian resistance groups.
