Over 75 retired US military leaders reject Gaza genocide allegations in open letter

Dozens of retired senior US military officers and legal experts reject allegations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza in an open letter published by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, arguing that such accusations do not meet the legal standard for genocide and are contradicted by the IDF’s conduct during the war.

In the letter, published on the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 massacre that sparked Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, more than 75 signatories argue that civilian death tolls alone cannot establish genocidal intent and point to Israeli evacuation warnings, humanitarian corridors, tactical pauses, legal review of targets and canceled strikes as evidence that the IDF was trying to limit civilian harm.

They say that while some statements by Israeli politicians “seemingly encouraging unlawful harm to civilians” were “disgraceful,” such “inflammatory” rhetoric did not reflect IDF operations.

Signatories include former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Philip Breedlove, former US Strategic Command chief Gen. Kevin Chilton, former Marine Corps commandant Gen. James Amos, former US 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. John Bird, former CENTCOM deputy commander Vice Adm. Mark Fox, and Urban Warfare Institute executive director John Spencer.

“Many of the signatories to this letter have commanded United States armed forces in combat against enemies who regularly hide behind civilians and put those civilians intentionally in harm’s way. Fighting under those complexities is especially difficult. We understand that the loss of civilian life in Gaza is tragic. But we also know that such tragic outcomes do not necessarily violate the law of armed conflict,” the letter reads.

“Israel has not committed genocide but rather set a high bar for how to conduct urban warfare against an enemy who will stop at nothing, including the death of its own civilians,” it continues, adding, “the precedent established today regarding Israel will shape the conditions under which American forces fight tomorrow. Protecting civilians and preserving the ability of our nation to defend itself requires us to defend the truth when the laws of war are being distorted to make false charges of genocide.”