US Defense Secretary says there’s no evidence of Israel committing genocide in Gaza

The US does not have any evidence of Israel committing genocide in Gaza, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified during a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Austin denied accusations that he “green-lit genocide.” “From the very beginning we are committed to help assist Israel in defending its territory and its people by providing security assistance,” Austin said. “And I would remind everybody that what happened on October 7 was absolutely horrible.” Austin later agreed that Hamas committed war crimes on October 7. “Hamas is responsible for the start of this war,” Austin said. “But having said that, there have been far too many civilian casualties. I think there is a way to be successful operationally and tactically and also protect civilians. The two are not mutually exclusive.” Austin said hostage talks are important and ongoing, and leadership in Qatar is “intentionally focused on making sure the hostages are released as soon as possible.” Austin said he talks to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant every week and encourages him to increase the volume of humanitarian assistance going into Gaza. We’ve seen them do that most recently, Austin said, but we need to sustain it.