Gaza  -PNN– Two former U.S. officials said that the United States gathered intelligence over the past year indicating that Israeli officials had discussed ways to send Palestinians into tunnels in Gaza that were believed to be filled with explosives, in order to use them as human shields.

According to a report published by Reuters on Wednesday, the officials said that this information was shared with the White House, and that intelligence agencies analyzed it during the final weeks of former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.

Officials within the Biden administration had long expressed concerns about media reports suggesting that Israeli soldiers were using Palestinians as “human shields” in Gaza, but it had not previously been disclosed that Washington was gathering its own evidence on the issue.

The White House raises questions about the extent of the practice

The two former U.S. officials said that the intelligence collected by U.S. agencies in the final months of 2024 raised questions within the White House and intelligence community about how widespread these practices might be, and whether Israeli soldiers were acting under orders from their military commanders.

The officials did not specify whether the Palestinians mentioned in the intelligence reports were prisoners, detainees, or civilians, and requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the national security information.

It has not been verified whether the Biden administration discussed this intelligence with the Israeli government. Neither former Biden administration officials nor the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) responded to requests for comment.

The Israeli military said in a statement that “the use of civilians as human shields or forcing them in any way to take part in military operations is prohibited,” adding that the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is investigating “suspicions related to the participation of Palestinians in military missions.”

Internal U.S. debate over possible complicity: Did the United States collude?

This intelligence was part of a series of other information circulated within the U.S. government during the final stages of the Biden administration, as intelligence agencies analyzed new data concerning internal Israeli deliberations about its military conduct in Gaza.

Reuters reported last week that during the same period, the administration had also gathered intelligence suggesting that Israeli lawyers had warned of evidence that could support war crimes charges against Israel in connection with its war in Gaza.

The two former U.S. officials said that the new information coming from within Israel raised serious concerns among senior American officials, some of whom believed it supported claims made by certain members of the administration that Israel was committing war crimes.

The United States could be held responsible for supplying weapons to the Israeli army if war crimes were proven, and it might also be compelled to halt the sharing of intelligence with Israel.

However, lawyers from several U.S. agencies determined, in the final weeks of the Biden administration, that the available evidence was insufficient to establish that Israel had committed war crimes, and therefore the United States could continue its military and intelligence support.

Some former U.S. officials claimed that the large volume of intelligence gathered toward the end of Biden’s term pointed to isolated incidents within Gaza, rather than a systematic or official Israeli policy.