A group of twelve Democratic senators has formally requested answers from U.S. Central Command regarding American involvement in Israel’s controversial evacuation zone policies across Lebanon and Iran, raising concerns about potential violations of international law.
The inquiry highlights the growing divide within the Democratic Party regarding Israel’s military operations and U.S. support for them.
Throughout the ongoing conflicts with Iran and the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, Israeli forces have consistently released maps designating extensive territorial areas while instructing all residents within these zones to evacuate immediately. This strategy mirrors tactics previously employed in Gaza.
According to the senators, these broad displacement orders have “been used to permanently displace people and destroy homes and towns” and noted that civilians who chose to remain in designated areas have been killed in subsequent military strikes.
Vermont Senator Peter Welch spearheaded the May 4th correspondence to CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper, obtained by The Associated Press, asserting that Israel’s unilateral mass evacuation declarations in Lebanon and Iran “likely contravene international laws the United States has helped develop around humane warfare.”
Additional signers include Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin.
The correspondence seeks clarification on whether U.S. forces have coordinated military objectives with Israeli forces during recent Iranian conflicts, if they provided support or intelligence for Israel’s evacuation zone implementation in Lebanon and Iran, and whether CENTCOM approved U.S. military backing for targeting individuals or infrastructure within these zones. The letter also inquires about any military review of the practice’s legality.
Israeli military officials declined comment regarding the letter, while CENTCOM has not yet responded to inquiries.
Israeli authorities have previously stated that evacuation maps serve to protect civilian populations from harm, noting that Hezbollah has established fighters, tunnel networks and weapons throughout civilian areas in southern Lebanon, launching hundreds of drones and missiles into northern Israel without advance warning.
Political observers describe this action as part of a broader transformation in Democratic Party leadership’s position on U.S. military aid to Israel. Democrats have also criticized the Trump administration’s military involvement in the Iranian conflict alongside Israel.
This letter arrived nearly three weeks following more than three dozen Democrats backing Sanders’ initiative to halt arms sales to Israel, demonstrating increasing party dissatisfaction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the conflicts in Gaza and Iran.
Both resolutions aimed at blocking U.S. sales of bulldozers and bombs to Israel faced unanimous Republican opposition and were defeated 40-59 and 36-63.
Jon Finer, former deputy national security adviser under President Joe Biden, explained that recent Democratic senator actions reflect “growing concern about Israeli conduct of various wars that cause civilian harm and U.S. complicity in that” throughout the Democratic Party spectrum.
When asked about the timing of these Democratic actions, rather than during the initial outbreak of Gaza and Israel-Hezbollah conflicts under the Democratic Biden administration, Finer stated: “our operational integration with Israel appears to be growing, which is part of it, but the truth is the Democratic base has been moving in this direction for some time and Washington has been catching up.”
Andrew Miller, former senior State Department official for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, characterized the letter as “represents a shift among congressional Democrats moving from questions of the legality of Israeli military operations to concerns about the complicity of the U.S. military.”
“It demonstrates that Democrats are taking international law very seriously and that is a welcome development,” Miller added.
Since the current Israel-Hezbollah conflict began March 2nd, Israel has issued numerous evacuation warnings throughout Lebanon. More than one million Lebanese residents have abandoned their homes during this conflict.
Similar warnings have been issued to Iranian civilians during both the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict last year and the U.S.-Israeli military action launched against Iran February 28th. In one instance last year, they warned 300,000 Tehran residents to evacuate the Iranian capital.
Wednesday saw Israeli military Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee issue evacuation notices to residents of 12 southern Lebanese villages, citing Hezbollah’s use of these locations for launching attacks. These warnings occurred despite a ceasefire nominally established April 17th, though Israel and Hezbollah continue daily attacks.
The senators emphasized that declaring evacuation zones does not release Israeli and U.S. forces “from the absolute legal responsibility to determine that each individual person or civilian facility targeted by drones, jets, and gunfire is, in fact, a military target.” They connected the zone usage to “the deaths of thousands of civilians,” characterizing them as “kill zones.”
Responding to Associated Press inquiries last month, Israeli military officials stated they issue warnings through phone calls, text messages, radio broadcasts, social media and air-dropped leaflets, following “principles of distinction, proportionality and feasible precautions” under international law.
