(MENAFN) Israeli military attorneys were reportedly uneasy about the expanding evidence indicating that the nation’s operations in Gaza might constitute war crimes, according to US intelligence collected during the first year of the conflict, five former American officials told a media outlet.

The military campaign was initiated by Israel in retaliation for the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023, which resulted in roughly 1,200 deaths.

Since then, the ensuing airstrikes and ground operations have claimed the lives of over 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

A UN commission has accused Israel of acts tantamount to genocide, and the country is currently facing two international legal proceedings – one at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and another at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

As highlighted in the media outlet’s report released on Friday, the Israeli military reportedly harbored reservations “about the legality of its tactics that contrasted sharply with Israel’s public stance defending its actions.”

Former officials from the administration of then-US President Joe Biden, speaking anonymously, described the intelligence collected and circulated before a congressional briefing in December 2024 as among the “most startling shared with top US policymakers during the war.”

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