Open Letter to the Virginia Congressional Delegation Regarding the Israel-Gaza Conflict
Word from Eli Ibanga, Owner, ELIETAL - “I believe that ethics must come first above all else. As such, I’ve written a letter to my representatives: Senator Tim Kaine, Senator Mark Warner, and Representative Don Beyer, addressing concerns I have relating to Israel’s actions in Gaza and their impact on the United States. To maintain transparency and adhere to my values, I’ve decided to publish this letter to the public. I implore all readers to consider contacting their own representatives in regards to this conflict as well.”
Dear Senator Kaine, Senator Warner, and Representative Beyer,
The purpose of this letter is to seek clarification on the reasons for the United States continued support to Israel under the current circumstances of the Gazan conflict. As a former US army officer, as well as a veteran of Operation Resolute Support in Afghanistan, US Citizen, and Virginia resident, I fail to see any ethical reason for almost every US politician to publicly defend Israel and approve continued military support to them when there are documented human rights violations, wanton killing of Palestinian civilians, and the IDF’s blatant disregard for ethics. The actions of the IDF in this conflict are in stark contrast to the standards of behavior we hold of our own military, and our continued alliance with Israel appears unbecoming under these circumstances.
Of all issues relating to the conflict in Gaza, I find Israel’s violations of the Geneva Conventions most concerning. I fear permanent damage has been done to the image and credibility of the United States because of our politicians’ unconditional support of Israel despite the extensive evidence and international condemnation of Israel’s crimes. The Geneva Conventions has several Provisions and Protocols that the US has ratified or at least endorsed as a signatory. Despite not ratifying all protocols, the United States military very closely adheres to all Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols, as well as the Law of War. I expect the United States to only ally with nations that maintain the same high standards of integrity. It is my assumption that Israel has avoided signing or ratifying Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions to allow for military action against Palestinians while being immune to international law. Additional Protocol I governs civilian victims of armed conflicts in which people are fighting against “colonial domination, alien occupation, or racist regimes” (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Bern, 1978). While Israel is technically not in violation of this as it is not a signatory, these are rules that the United States has endorsed and follows despite not ratifying them. Israel also appears to have breached several articles of the core Geneva Conventions, which it has signed and ratified, via torture and mutilation, taking of hostages, humiliation of hostages, and not caring for the sick and wounded (ICRC, Commentary on the First Geneva Convention, 2016). There is documented evidence of Israel killing civilians (Al-Mughrabi & Farge, 2025). To date, Israel has not taken accountability, nor corrected its operational failures to limit future civilian casualties. The United States military caused a similar number of civilian casualties to the Gazan conflict in Iraq – over a period of eight years, with most civilian casualties coming in the first two years of conflict (Hamourtziadou, 2023). But whereas Israel sees nothing wrong with its actions, the US took measures to limit the number of civilian casualties, and succeeded. We simply cannot insist on unwavering support of Israel and the IDF when they lack the moral fortitude to acknowledge their own wrongdoing. While I understand that Israel is considered a close ally to the United States, I am not aware of any treaties binding us to their defense, especially when it would seem they do not adhere to nor believe in the values we champion as a country.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the cost of American lives, the US military implemented rules of engagement that limited civilian casualties. In 20 years of war, we caused no comparable level of destruction to infrastructure to any city in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria to that which Israel has caused in Gaza – excepting Raqqa, where we still took initiative to rebuild through USAID. The destruction of Raqqa does not justify the destruction of Gaza. Even more damming, we have US Soldiers jailed for violations of the Law of War and Geneva Conventions from our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, several US Soldiers were court martialed and jailed for the killing of unarmed civilians, and their subsequent attempts to frame said citizens as combatants (BBC, 2011). From the Iraq War, Soldiers were court martialed for their torture of detainees (Barakat, 2024). Comparatively, Israel has been accused of the torture of detainees many times during its current military campaign in Gaza (United Nations, 2024). Israel has also been accused of wanton killing of civilians, with many instances of evidence flooding the internet daily for the past year and a half. Israel has again found itself guilty of no wrongdoing – despite the claims of international scholars, the United Nations, and even former Israel Prime Minister Olmert (Tondo, 2025). If we are willing to hold our own Soldiers to account, we must have the moral fiber to hold an ally to requisite standards. While I understand Israel is our ally and not our subordinate, we can certainly refuse to enable or endorse their amoral behavior. The IDF has consistently violated internationally recognized standards of warfare that the nation of Israel has agreed to. There is documented evidence of them targeting hospitals, attacking civilians, enabling famine, killing journalists, and even killing UN personnel, all while absolving themselves of guilt (Rubenstein & Morrison, 2024; Committee to Protect Journalists, 2025; El Deeb, 2025; Lazzarini, 2025). If the US turns a blind eye to the slaughter of civilians and other such crimes we will capitulate our moral leadership role globally, increasing the risk to Americans and American interests.
My hope is that my assessment here is incorrect due to some glaring oversight on my part. I would implore you not to give me, nor the American public, anecdotes regarding Hamas’ violence towards Israel as justification for Israel’s actions. Hamas is a terrorist organization. We should hold ourselves and our allies to higher standards of behavior than such a group. If there is classified information that justifies this behavior, then I would request the US government declassify it and share it with the public in order to repair our damaged reputation and ignite our collective belief in this cause. I hope my concerns stem from a misunderstanding, and welcome a response from you that address these concerns or indicates a renewed commitment to principled foreign policy and holding our allies to the same standards that we expect of ourselves.
Very respectfully,
Elisha Ibanga
Resident of Arlington, Virginia
References
Al-Mughrabi , N., & Farge, E. (2025, March 24). Gaza death toll: How many Palestinians has Israel’s offensive killed?. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-many-palestinians-has-israels-gaza-offensive-killed-2025-01-15/
Barakat, M. (2024, April 12). 20 years later, Abu Ghraib detainees get their day in US court. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/abu-ghraib-lawsuit-caci-virginia-contractor-torture-47bca65df10c62b672944692a139e012
BBC. (2011, March 24). Jeremy Morlock jailed for 24 years over Afghan deaths. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-12836851
Committee to Protect Journalists (2025, 28 May). Journalist casualties in the Israel-gaza war. https://cpj.org/2023/10/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/
El Deeb, S. (2025, May 19). Aid workers feel helpless as Israel’s blockade pushes Gaza towards famine. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-palestinians-war-aid-blockade-12e18ac4b6d9fbdd1f058c7fcec4c97c
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Bern (1978). Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977.). International Humanitarian Law. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977
Hamourtziadou, L. (2023, March 20). How many Iraqis did the US really kill?. Asia Times. https://asiatimes.com/2023/03/how-many-iraqis-did-the-us-really-kill/#
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Commentary on the First Geneva Convention: Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, 2nd edition, 2016. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ihl/full/GCI-commentary
Lazzarini, P. (2025, May 28). UNRWA commissioner-general on Gaza: A summary execution among more than 310 UNRWA staff killed in Gaza | unrwa. https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-commissioner-general-gaza-summary-execution-among-more-310-unrwa
Rubenstein, L. S., & Morrison, J. S. (2024, March 24). Facts and falsehoods: Israel’s attacks against Gaza’s Hospitals. Think Global Health. https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/facts-and-falsehoods-israels-attacks-against-gazas-hospitals
Tondo, L. (2025, May 27). Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says his country is committing war crimes. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/27/former-israeli-pm-ehud-olmert-says-his-country-is-committing-war-crimes
United Nations (2024, August 5). Israel’s escalating use of torture against Palestinians in custody a preventable crime against humanity: UN experts | ohchr. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Chancellor. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/08/israels-escalating-use-torture-against-palestinians-custody-preventable