Scale of Gaza civilian deaths is indefensible — ex-US officials tell Biden

Nearly 70 former US officials, diplomats and military officers have urged President Joe Biden to warn Israel of severe consequences if it denies civil rights and basic necessities to Palestinians and expands illegal settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

"The United States must be willing to take concrete action to oppose" such practices, the group said in an open letter to Biden on Wednesday, "including restrictions on the provision of [US] assistance [to Israel] consistent with US law and policy."

Among the signatories were more than a dozen former ambassadors, as well as other retired State Department officials and former Pentagon, intelligence and White House officials, including Anthony Lake, a national security adviser to former president Bill Clinton.

The letter underscored rising dismay in the United States over Israeli genocide in besieged Gaza.

In its letter, the group said that an Israeli war on the blockaded enclave was "necessary and justified."

But Israel's carnage has "been marked by repeated violations" of international law banning indiscriminate killing and the use of weapons that do not permit discrimination between combatants and civilians, the group said.

"Tens of thousands of Gazan civilians have been killed, the majority of whom are women and children," the group said. "Civilian killings of this nature and magnitude cannot be justified."

The group said that it strongly backs Biden's call for an immediate truce of at least six weeks, the establishment of a reliable humanitarian aid delivery system, and the release of captives.

The signatories also called on the Israeli military to implement rules of engagement consistent with international law.

Israel's genocide in Gaza

Israel denies that its operations breach international law.

Tel Aviv has killed at least 31,923 people and wounded 74,096 others so far in the blockaded enclave.

The Israeli war has pushed 85 percent of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.