While President Biden said in his Oval Office address on Thursday evening that America would continue to stand with Israel against Hamas atrocities — before calling for the world not to give up "hope" for a "two-state solution," of course — will his administration formally declare the barbaric actions of the Iran-funded terrorists what they are?
That's the question House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) is asking of the Biden administration in a new letter sent Thursday evening.
"On October 7th, 2023, Hamas committed acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Jewish people and the State of Israel," McCaul's letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ambassador Beth Van Schaack in the Office of Global Criminal Justice reiterated.
"Hamas’ actions were not just acts of 'terrorism' or 'terrorist attacks,'" McCaul emphasized. "Rather, the assault was carried out by a genocidal organization and comprised nothing less than the full range of atrocity crimes under international law. I write to request that the Department of State and the Office of Global Criminal Justice – working in coordination with the Office of the Legal Advisor – consider a formal determination of the same," he wrote before reminding the Biden administration of the definitions of such wrongs.
Genocide comprises acts – including killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, or forcibly transferring children – taken with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such. In this regard, the International Court of Justice has observed that “the prohibition of genocide has the character of a peremptory norm [of international law] (jus cogens),” from which no derogation is permitted.
Crimes against humanity comprise acts – including murder, extermination, rape, forcible transfer of population, or acts causing great suffering to mental or physical health – committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.
War crimes comprise grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and include taking of hostages, rape and sexual slavery, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, attacking or bombarding, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives, and committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.
"Hamas’ assault on the Jewish people and the State of Israel began when thousands of rockets rained down on Israel," McCaul recalled of the horror that unfolded on October 7. "Then, more than 1,500 members of Hamas’ death squads purged Israeli villages – killing over 1,400 people, injuring thousands of others, taking at least 200 hostages, and leaving behind a trail of unspeakable horror. But we must speak of it – these atrocities cannot be justified, ignored, or denied," McCaul rightfully insisted before listing the horrific actions carried out by Hamas.
- Murdering civilians in their cars, including women, children, and entire families;
- Assaulting kibbutzim, killing residents and burning homes;
- Holding captive and massacring families in their homes;
- Executing civilians forced from shelter by fire, grenades, or otherwise;
- Forcing hostages to lure other civilians out of their homes;
- Executing babies and children, including in their beds and carseats;
- Murdering the elderly, and posting the evidence on the social media of those killed;
- Slaughtering more than 250 civilians attending a music festival, at point-blank range, and as they tried to escape;
- Capturing, holding hostage, and raping women;
- Kidnapping children;
- Parading and spitting on deceased victims in the streets;
- Mutilating bodies of civilians and soldiers;
- Burning men, women, and children alive;
- Stripping hostages and holding them at gunpoint;
- And numerous other atrocities.
McCaul also noted that "Hamas undoubtedly carried out these atrocity crimes with the requisite intent" and pointed to "documents recovered from the Hamas death squads" which "demonstrate that the assault was meticulously planned to devastate kibbutzim, schools, and youth centers, and to 'kill as many people as possible.' Hamas thus plainly intended to destroy 'a substantial part' of the Jewish people and the State of Israel," McCaul stated. "Under such circumstances, the requisite intent for these atrocity crimes 'is the only inference that could reasonably be drawn from the acts in question.'"
Noting that, "Equivocation on the nature of these atrocities is indefensible" and "denying their existence is wrong," McCaul concluded his call for the State Department to join him — and many horrified observers around the world — in "issuing a clear and unambiguous declaration that Hamas has committed acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Indeed, all parties to conflict must act in accordance with international law," McCaul added, something Biden has repeatedly said toward Israel.
"Following its deployment of mobile death squads to Israel, the name of Hamas will echo with Einsatzgruppen through the ages, as the essence of evil," McCaul declared. "And like Otto Ohlendorf at Nuremberg, Hamas and its members must similarly be held accountable for these atrocities. At such times, the United States should answer the 'plea of humanity to law,'" said McCaul. "A formal determination by the State Department is a crucial reply toward that end."