A former top Biden administration official now says Israel "without a doubt" committed war crimes in Gaza - a stark departure from his public position while serving as spokesperson for the U.S. State Department.
Matthew Miller, who held the post from 2023 until early 2025, made the remarks during an interview on Sky News' "Trump 100" podcast with host Mark Stone. "I don't think it's a genocide, but I think it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes," Miller said. He added that his belief extended back to his time at the podium but stressed that a spokesperson must reflect the administration's position, not personal views. "You're expressing the conclusions of the United States government," Miller said. "The United States government had not concluded that [Israel] committed war crimes. Still have not concluded that."
Miller's admission follows mounting international scrutiny over Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which began in response to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, assault that killed 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in around 250 hostages. In retaliation, Israel launched a prolonged offensive that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians and devastated much of Gaza's infrastructure, according to Gaza health officials.
In 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrant requests for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of using starvation as a method of warfare and committing crimes against humanity including murder and persecution. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan stated, "These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day." The court also targeted three Hamas leaders for war crimes.
At the time, Miller criticized the ICC's actions, stating, "We have made clear that we do not believe the ICC has jurisdiction in this case and oppose their investigation." But this week, he reversed course, admitting that Israeli soldiers had committed war crimes even if the Israeli government's policy intent remained an "open question."
There almost certainly were individual war crimes committed, Miller said, while asserting Israel had not held "sufficient numbers of the military accountable."
Miller's comments have sparked backlash and renewed debate over the Biden administration's approach to the conflict. Hamid Bendaas, a spokesperson for the pro-Palestinian IMEU Policy Project, said, "I think this is the first foray of that - of Biden admin officials being like, 'Oh yeah, we were hard on Israel.'" He added, "But [Miller] is saying that he's speaking about covering war crimes, right? ... saying that doesn't happen because you're following orders? That's basically what he's saying he did."
Progressive critics also faulted Miller's tenure as enabling impunity. "Matthew Miller, almost daily, not only lied to the public and the press, he did it in a shitty condescending way, in an attempt to mislead the public," wrote strategist Rania Batrice on X.
Miller's disclosure aligns with internal State Department findings from last year that Israel deliberately blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza - a violation that would have legally required suspension of U.S. arms transfers. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, however, overrode the findings and excluded them from the report sent to Congress. The lead author, Stacy Gilbert, resigned in protest.
Josh Paul, another Biden appointee who resigned over the administration's stance, said, "The Biden Administration's wanton lawbreaking when it came to what was happening in Gaza was no less a scandal than Watergate, and in the context of its human impact, probably a greater one."
Miller now says he wishes the U.S. had exerted more pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire after May 2024, when civilian casualties mounted and reports of indiscriminate attacks became widespread. Bendaas concluded, "It's a sign that they are recognizing that public opinion has shifted pretty rapidly on this ... it's just extremely unpopular to be pro-Israel in the way that Democrats have been for the last few decades."
