Palestinian families sued the US State Department on Tuesday over Washington’s assistance for Israel’s military during its war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people and created a humanitarian crisis, according to a court filing. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, claimed that the State Department, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, deliberately violated a US human rights law by continuing to fund and support Israeli military units accused of atrocities in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Leahy Laws prohibit providing US military help to individuals or security forces that have committed major violations of human rights but have not been prosecuted. Both South Africa before the World Court and Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide and war crimes. Israel has disputed the charges. Human rights organizations have attacked Washington for retaining its support for Israel while making no significant policy changes. “The State Department’s calculated failure to apply the Leahy Law is particularly shocking in the face of the unprecedented escalation of Israeli gross violations of human rights since the Gaza War erupted on October 7, 2023,” according to the court filing of the complaint.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The local health ministry reports that Israel’s attack in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians. Thousands more remain unaccounted for. Israel’s attack has also displaced virtually all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and triggered a hunger catastrophe.

The latest violence in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict occurred on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants assaulted Israel, killing 1,200 and seizing approximately 250 captives, according to Israeli estimates. The complaint was launched by five Palestinians from Gaza, the West Bank, and the United States. The principal plaintiff was a Gaza teacher who was moved seven times during the current conflict and lost 20 family members, according to the petition.