During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pushed back against claims of a genocide being committed in Gaza, where Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R‑AR) asked Austin to give a response to activists, some of whom have accused the defense secretary himself of facilitating genocide, after he testified that Hamas has been committing war crimes by using civilians as human shields.
“We don’t have any evidence of genocide being created,” Austin said. When pressed to address whether Israel specifically is committing genocide, he added, “We don’t have evidence of that, to my knowledge.”
COTTON: “Address protestors: Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza?“AUSTIN: “We don’t have any evidence of genocide being created”“So that’s a no. Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza”“We don’t have evidence of that”“Better than Dir. Burns and Dir. Haines did last month” pic.twitter.com/cdWd5Ue3hZ
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) April 9, 2024
Cotton credited Austin with doing “better” than CIA Director William Burns and Director of National I …