Washington: A former top Biden administration official has acknowledged that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza — a stark shift from his previous public stance as the U.S. State Department's chief spokesperson.
Matthew Miller, who served as the department’s public face until earlier this year, made the remarks during an interview on Sky News’s Dirty Work podcast. When asked directly whether Israel had committed genocide, Miller replied: “I don’t think it’s a genocide, but I think it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes.”
This admission contrasts sharply with Miller's official rhetoric while in office, when he frequently defended Israeli military actions and pushed back against accusations from journalists and international bodies. At the time, he echoed the administration's position, opposing efforts to hold Israel accountable through mechanisms like the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Pressed by interviewer Mark Stone on whether he would have made such a statement from the State Department podium, Miller responded candidly: “No, because when you’re at the podium, you’re not expressing your personal opinion. You’re expressing the conclusions of the United States government.”
During his tenure, Miller often faced scrutiny and public protests over the administration’s handling of the war in Gaza. He, along with President Joe Biden, publicly rejected the ICC’s decision last year to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who were accused of crimes against humanity and employing starvation as a weapon of war.
The U.S. government, under both Biden and currently under Trump, has dismissed the ICC's actions as overreach, with the Trump administration even going so far as to sanction court officials.
In addition to the ICC proceedings, Israel is currently facing a genocide case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice. Israeli officials have consistently denied all allegations, insisting their military operations are in self-defense and that Hamas uses civilians as shields while obstructing humanitarian aid.
Miller said it remains uncertain whether the Israeli government officially endorsed or merely enabled war crimes, but he stated that it was “almost certainly not an open question” that Israeli soldiers had carried out such acts. “The way you judge a democracy is whether they hold those people accountable,” he said. “We have not yet seen them hold sufficient numbers of the military accountable.”
Reflecting on his time in the administration, Miller admitted he continues to question whether more could have been done to push for a ceasefire earlier in the conflict. “I think at times there probably was,” he said.
The Biden administration proposed a ceasefire agreement in May 2024, which was briefly implemented in January 2025, but eventually collapsed when Israeli airstrikes resumed in March. Miller noted that both Hamas and Netanyahu’s government repeatedly shifted demands, complicating efforts. However, he added, “I do think there were times when we should have been tougher on him [Netanyahu].”
