US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that there is no evidence of genocide being carried out in Gaza.
The accusation of genocide being carried out against Gaza residents has been leveled at Israel since the start of the war started by Hamas on October 7, as soon as Israeli forces responded to the existential threat posed by Hamas.
In his testimony, the Defense Secretary told the committee that in fact, it Hamas that committed war crimes on October 7, and has been committing them every day since, by using its own civilians as human shields.
“We don’t have any evidence of genocide being created so that’s a ‘no’,” Austin told the committee. “Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza. We don’t have evidence of that to my
knowledge,” he said.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), a member of the committee, noted that pro-Hamas protesters who that day had managed to shut down the largest cafeteria in the Senate building, accused Austin of “greenlighting genocide.”
“In response, the Defense Minister noted that “from the very beginning we committed to help assist Israel in defending its territory and its people by providing security assistance — and I would remind everybody that you know what happened on October 7th was absolutely horrible.
“You know the numbers of Israeli citizens killed and then a couple of hundred Israeli citizens [were] taken hostage, American citizens as well,” Austin pointed out, adding that he “absolutely” denies the accusation that he ‘greenlighted genocide.'”
‘Who’s Going to Accept Aid from the Gaza Pier?’
On the issue of humanitarian aid to the enclave, Senator Cotton asked why Israel has a responsibility to provide aid to Gaza, when it was Israel who was the victim of the unprovoked “vicious attack” on October 7.
“Why should they provide aid to the aggressors of October 7th? Cotton asked. “We didn’t provide aid to Germany and Japan during World War II,” the senator noted.
“What we we did was provide aid and assistance to many of the countries that we’ve operated in recently. [But] in World War II if you had been in George Marshall’s or Dwight Eisenhower’s position in World War II, would you have wanted to provide aid to Germany?” Cotton asked.
In response, Austin said, “I really do believe, Senator, that if they want to create a lasting effect and in terms of stability then I think that something needs to be done to help the Palestinian people.”
“I get that, but they’re in the middle of a war,” Cotton replied. “We believed that too, after World War II. That’s why we had the Marshall Plan; that’s why we rebuilt Japan. But that was after the war was won, not in the middle of it,” the senator emphasized.
“In the meantime it’s not Israel’s responsibility to provide aid. It’s certainly not our responsibility, but we’re spending our tax dollars to build this giant pier to send aid into Gaza. Who’s going to accept that aid?” Cotton asked. “Who’s going to be at the end of the pier on the shore taking aid from American forces?”
Austin told the senator in response, “That’s still being worked out, but there will be NGOs that will help to distribute that aid.”
At that point, Cotton delivered a blunt reality check.
“Hamas is in charge of Gaza,” he pointed out. “When aid goes to Gaza Hamas doesn’t divert it or commandeer it or steal it — it accepts it, and anybody operating in Gaza is under the thumb of Hamas.
“I just think it’s very ill-considered and I don’t think it’s going to end very well,” the senator added.
Senator Tom Cotton, 46, has represented Arkansas in the Senate since January 2015. A Harvard-educated attorney, Cotton is a decorated military veteran with the rank of captain. He served in the US Army’s 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and the 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), from 205 to 2009 in regular service and from 2010 to 2013 in the reserve.
Cotton served in the war in Afghanistan, as well as in the Iraq (Gulf) War, earning more than a dozen military awards and decorations, including a bronze star and a NATO medal.
The senator is among those in the US legislative branch who are deeply familiar with the kind of combat Israel faces in fighting for its survival while surrounded by Iranian proxies dedicated to the extermination of its people and the annihilation of its state.
