TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A former spokesperson for the U.S. State Department during President Joe Biden’s administration, Matthew Miller—who consistently defended Israel against accusations of war crimes—has now stated that Israel has "without a doubt" committed war crimes in Gaza.
This marks a significant shift from the statements he made while in office.
Miller made the comments during an interview on the Trump 100 podcast on Sky News, which aired on Monday, as quoted by Anadolu.
When directly asked whether there is genocide in Gaza—where Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and created famine risks—Miller said he was not sure it qualifies as genocide. However, he expressed certainty regarding war crimes.
“I don't think it's a genocide, but I think it is, without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes,” said Miller.
As quoted by ABC News, when interviewer Mark Stone said to him: “You wouldn't have said that from the [State Department press briefing] podium,” Miller replied, “Yeah, look, because when you're at the podium, you're not expressing your personal opinion. You're expressing the conclusions of the United States government.”
He noted that the U.S. government has not officially concluded that Israel has committed war crimes.
However, Miller distinguished between systematic state policy and individual military actions. He stated that Israeli soldiers have committed war crimes in certain incidents, but not as part of a deliberate government policy.
“There have been individual incidents that have been war crimes, where members of the Israeli military have committed war crimes,” he said.
He criticized Israel’s accountability measures, saying, “We have not yet seen them hold sufficient numbers of the military accountable.” He added that it remains an “open question” whether they ever will.
Miller said one thing he would “always ask myself” is whether the White House could have done more to pressure Israel into agreeing to a ceasefire sooner.
“I think at times there probably was,” he admitted.
The Biden administration proposed a ceasefire deal last May, which was implemented in January, but collapsed when Israel resumed airstrikes in Gaza in March.
“Now, it's difficult — Israel was not the only … party to this negotiation. You saw Hamas repeatedly move the goalposts,” he said.
“But you saw Netanyahu move the goalposts as well, and I do think there were times when we should have been tougher on him.”
Miller was the face of the U.S. State Department during the last two years of President Joe Biden’s term, regularly holding press briefings in Washington. At times, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside his home, angry at his consistent defense of Israel and for silencing pro-Palestinian journalists during press briefings.
Like Biden, Miller publicly criticized efforts to hold Israel accountable for alleged war crimes, such as the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders last November.
Those warrants, which remain in effect, accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of crimes against humanity and using starvation as a method of warfare.
The Trump administration had imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutors and accused the court of taking “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting Americans and our close ally, Israel.”
Separately, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing a genocide case against Israel, filed by South Africa.
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