The Biden administration quietly reviewed intelligence last year suggesting that Israeli soldiers had sent Palestinians into Hamas tunnels they believed could be rigged with explosives, according to two former U.S. officials familiar with the assessment.

The intelligence — gathered in the final weeks of President Biden’s term and shared across the White House and intelligence agencies — raised internal questions about whether Israeli forces were using a tactic that could constitute a violation of the laws of war, the former officials told Reuters.

The Israeli government did not respond to inquiries about the reported intelligence review or whether the issue was ever discussed directly with U.S. officials. The White House and CIA also declined to comment.

In a statement, the IDF said it “prohibits the use of civilians as human shields or coercing them in any way to participate in military operations.” The IDF added that its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is investigating “suspicions involving Palestinians in military missions.”

U.S. officials became concerned last year after news reports suggested Israeli forces were sending Palestinians into Hamas’ underground infrastructure in Gaza — a labyrinth of tunnels that Israel says terrorists use to transport fighters, weapons, and hostages.

The U.S. intelligence gathered subsequently, which has not previously been reported, prompted a quiet review inside the Biden White House. Officials sought clarity on how often the alleged practice was taking place and whether soldiers were acting under formal guidance.

The former officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information, did not say whether the Palestinians referenced in the intelligence were civilians or captured Hamas fighters.

Reuters was unable to determine whether the administration raised the matter directly with the Israeli government.

For some inside the administration, the intelligence appeared to bolster accusations from human rights groups that Israeli forces were committing war crimes. Such a finding would have had sweeping implications: the U.S. could be legally exposed for continuing to supply weapons to Israel and might have been forced to halt intelligence-sharing with the IDF.

But lawyers across multiple U.S. agencies ultimately concluded that the intelligence did not show that Israel had committed war crimes, according to former officials familiar with the review.

That determination allowed the administration to continue military and intelligence support for Israel as the war against Hamas intensified through the end of 2024.

The officials emphasized that the intelligence described isolated incidents rather than a systematic policy or practice by Israel.

The reports surfaced against the backdrop of Hamas’ well-documented practice of embedding military infrastructure in and beneath civilian areas — including hospitals, schools, and residential buildings — and using civilians as human shields.

Israeli officials have frequently cited those tactics to explain both the complexity and civilian cost of military operations in Gaza.

Whether the U.S. ever shared its findings with the Israeli government remains unclear. Former Biden White House officials declined to comment on the matter, and the CIA did not respond to requests for comment.

As the conflict continues to draw scrutiny in Washington and abroad, the newly surfaced intelligence assessment underscores the sensitive — and politically fraught — nature of U.S. oversight of Israel’s wartime conduct, especially as lawmakers debate the scope of American military support.

The internal review’s conclusion — that the incidents did not rise to the level of war crimes — helped avert a potential rupture in the U.S.-Israel security relationship. But the episode highlights the ongoing challenge for U.S. officials navigating a conflict where battlefield decisions in Gaza can trigger political, legal, and diplomatic repercussions in Washington.

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