Palestinian families sue State Department over US support for Israeli military

(Patria) - Palestinian families on Tuesday sued the US State Department over Washington's support for the Israeli military amid the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis, a court filing showed, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the State Department, under Secretary of State Antony Blinken, deliberately bypassed US human rights law to continue funding and supporting Israeli military units accused of committing atrocities in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Leahy laws prohibit the provision of US military aid to individuals or security force units that commit gross human rights violations and have not been brought to justice. South Africa and Amnesty International have accused Israel of committing genocide and war crimes at the World Court. Israel has rejected the accusations.

Washington faces criticism from human rights groups for maintaining its support for Israel without significant policy changes.

"The State Department's calculated failure to enforce the Leahy Law is particularly shocking given the unprecedented escalation of gross Israeli human rights violations since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023," the lawsuit states.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed over 45,000 people, according to the local health ministry. The Israeli offensive has also displaced nearly the entire population of 2.3 million Gazans and caused a famine crisis.

The lawsuit was filed by five Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and the United States. The lead plaintiff was a teacher from Gaza who has been displaced seven times in the ongoing war and lost twenty family members, the lawsuit states.