Enforce the Law: Trigger the Leahy Review Now Over IDF Abuses in Gaza

The Leahy Law is not a fringe idea. It is settled United States law, enshrined in bipartisan legislation that prohibits American tax dollars from funding foreign military units that commit gross violations of human rights. Its purpose is simple and resonates across political lines: accountability.

That is why we are launching the Leahy Review Now campaign, calling on Congress to immediately initiate a formal Leahy Law review of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) based on overwhelming evidence of systematic abuses in Gaza.

This is not a left or right issue. It is a matter of law and order, fiscal responsibility, and American integrity. No foreign military, no matter how close the alliance, should receive blank checks from the U.S. government when there is credible evidence they are violating international humanitarian norms and committing war crimes. That is exactly what the Leahy Law was written to prevent. And right now, it is being ignored.

I am not writing this as a politician or a pundit. I’m writing this as a physician who just returned from Gaza, where I served at Nasser Hospital during one of the largest mass casualty events of the war. On June 17, I crawled and knelt on the blood-covered floors of the trauma bay, surrounded by infants, children, and teenagers with gunshot wounds to the head, traumatic amputations, and shrapnel wounds carved deep into their torsos and faces. The scale and precision of the injuries made clear that these were not accidents. They were the result of deliberate military policy.

The children dying in Gaza are not abstractions. They are real. They are beautiful. And they are being erased with the help of American-made bombs and bullets.

One young girl wore a red sweater with the word “Love” across the front. Her left arm was severed off mid arm. I hesitated before cutting off her clothes because they were the only warm and beautiful thing left on her tiny frame. She was barely conscious, but she was still alive. Across from her were the bodies of five young boys, all lined up, all with single gunshots to the head. Their skulls were opened, and their brains spilled into their hair. Some had just finished hiding small bags of flour under their clothing just before they were shot.

The so-called “aid drop zones” are not safe. They are kill boxes. More than once, I treated children whose last act of hope was running toward a flour sack. Some died with food still in their hands. The IDF has repeatedly struck civilians at aid distribution points, evacuation corridors, hospitals, ambulances, schools, and United Nations shelters. None of this is speculation. These facts are backed by credible documentation from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, United Nations agencies, and most importantly, by the firsthand testimony of those of us who were there.

The Leahy Law explicitly prohibits U.S. military aid to units that commit gross violations of human rights. That includes extrajudicial killings, torture, targeting civilians, and violations of the Geneva Conventions. The conduct of the IDF in Gaza is not in a gray area. It qualifies.

Yet despite this mountain of evidence, the United States continues to send billions in weapons and military support. Congress continues to write blank checks. And most American taxpayers have no idea that they are funding the systematic destruction of a civilian population.

The Leahy Review Now campaign demands a change. We are calling on members of Congress, particularly the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, to immediately trigger a formal review of the IDF under the Leahy Law. The process must be transparent, independent, and thorough. If the law is applied honestly, the outcome will be clear.

To be silent now is to be complicit. And to be complicit is to be culpable.

Some will say this is about geopolitics. It is not. This is about law. This is about children. This is about the fundamental principle that no one is above accountability. Not even our allies.

Former Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) himself has stated clearly that the law bearing his name must apply to Israel just as it applies to every other nation. To carve out an exception now would be to gut the law entirely. That would send a chilling message to the world: The rules-based order is optional, and America plays favorites.

We cannot let that happen. The law must mean something. The deaths must mean something. The future depends on our ability to stop this cycle of impunity.

As a physician, I took an oath to do no harm. That oath doesn’t end at our borders. It extends to all people, everywhere, especially when they are being harmed with our money and our weapons.

That’s why I am asking you to sign the petition at https://sign.moveon.org/p/LeahyReviewNow. For more information on the petition go to www.LeahyReviewNow.org. Share it. Talk about it. Pressure your elected officials. Demand a review. Demand accountability. And demand it now.

This campaign is not symbolic. It is legal. It is grounded. And it is urgent. The children dying in Gaza are not abstractions. They are real. They are beautiful. And they are being erased with the help of American-made bombs and bullets. We can no longer say we didn’t know.

We know.

Now it’s time to act.