U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller evaded questions from journalists during his daily press briefing Thursday on Israel's recent bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp and civilian deaths in Gaza.
"I'm asking once again after the major attack on the refugee camp, what is the US assessment so far on whether Israel is following the laws of war?" said one journalist.
Miller defended Israel, saying it was "complying with the laws of war," adding: "I'm not in a position to make an assessment on this attack, nor can I assess other attacks."
The journalist then pointed out that many human rights advocates had labeled the Israeli attack a "war crime" and asked whether the State Department was assessing Israel's actions in this regard.
"It is not an assessment that we are making now," Miller replied.
Another journalist asked him a question on the Jabalia refugee camp.
"Why aren't you condemning the killing of potentially dozens, if not around 300, civilians for the death of one person, as an Israeli spokesperson claimed they were pursuing a militant? Why no condemnation?"
Miller expressed deep regret over the civilian deaths and said they did not want civilians to die, whether Palestinian or Israeli.
The journalist pointed out that 21 years ago during the administration of George W. Bush, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer condemned the killing of 15 people to target a Hamas leader and asked, "Why isn't your administration doing the same now?"
Miller responded by saying, "I can't speak to an assessment made by a previous administration 20 years ago. What I will say is that we will continue to advise our Israeli counterparts to minimize harm to civilians."
Another journalist reminded Miller that he had said they were not making an assessment of Israel's actions, adding, "I'm just curious, why aren't you doing it?"
Miller replied: "It's not something we're doing at this point."
There was then a heated exchange between the journalist and Miller.
The journalist responded: "These events have been ongoing for three weeks. You've made similar assessments in the same timeframe before. Why are you just saying now that it hasn't been discussed?"
Miller said: "I won't speak about internal conversations at the State Department. I speak about assessments, and at this moment, we have no assessment on war crimes."
After further interruptions with the journalist, Miller continued, saying: "We'll have an opportunity for that, as our Secretary has mentioned. We're not currently at a point where we're assessing all attacks."
The journalist countered: "But you've already reached a decision on Russia committing war crimes (in Ukraine) and made a determination of the law. In this case, you're not even willing to say it's under discussion."
Miller said: "With Russia, there were highly credible documents indicating deliberate targeting of civilians. This assessment was made after clear evidence in Bucha."
