\u201cBut I also believe that the prime minister has led us down a road \u2014 and we have been part of it that has, in essence \u2014 created a genocide in Gaza that has destabilized the Middle East,\u201d Sherman added.<\/p>\n
Sherman appeared to walk back the allegation when pushed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t make the legal analysis about whether it is literally a genocide. But there is no doubt that Gaza was demolished.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPalestinians deserve a home, dignity and peace. Israel absolutely deserves security and peace. I\u2019m a strong supporter of Israel and the right of a Jewish state, but I am not a supporter of destroying any civilization, or any people. That goes for the Palestinians or the Iranian people<\/a>, as much as I might find the regime odious,\u201d said the former deputy secretary of state, who helped negotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during Barack Obama\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State under Joe Biden, Wendy Sherman:<\/p>\n I believe that Netanyahu has led us down a road, and we have been part of it.<\/p>\n That has, in essence, created a genocide in Gaza, that has destabilized the Middle East. pic.twitter.com\/GSeOTwXGwV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Clash Report (@clashreport) April 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Israel insists that it fights in accordance with international law, and has rejected allegations of genocide or other war crimes in its campaign against Hamas. It has noted evacuation warnings sent in advance of airstrikes; efforts, throughout most of the war, to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid; and Hamas\u2019s systematic use of human shields.\n<\/p>\n While most Biden officials have expressed significant frustration with Israel\u2019s prosecution of the war in Gaza, they have refrained from lodging accusations of genocide.<\/p>\n The remarks by Sherman pointed to an ongoing shift within the Democratic Party regarding where such rhetoric of Israel is becoming increasingly mainstream.<\/p>\n Sherman, who is Jewish, retired from the State Department in the summer of 2023, just several months before Hamas\u2019s October 7 onslaught that sparked the Gaza war.<\/p>\n Asked in the Bloomberg interview whether the US could have done more to restrain Israel, Sherman said presidents from both parties \u201chave not dealt with the Middle East in a way that\u2019s helped create stability and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the Iraq war was a disaster. Then, Obama tried to deal with Iran \u2014 that was undone by Trump. Could the Biden administration have done more? I\u2019m sure we could have. Every administration, in hindsight, could have done more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThe politics in our country have been very tied up with our relationship with Israel, in many ways. It\u2019s a tough call and something we all have to unpack.\u201d<\/p>\n Biden\u2019s vice president Kamala Harris<\/a> came similarly close to definitively accusing Israel of genocide last year.<\/p>\n She was asked during an October interview whether she would use the term to describe Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza \u2014 a question that has increasingly become a litmus test<\/a> in Democratic circles.<\/p>\n \u201cListen, it is a term of law that a court will decide,\u201d Harris responded. \u201cBut I will tell you that when you look at the number of children that have been killed, the number of innocent civilians that have been killed, the refusal to give aid and support, we should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Several US lawmakers, including Vermont\u2019s Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent progressive, and former far-right Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have described Israel\u2019s conduct in Gaza over the past two years in Gaza as a genocide, but the allegation has not gotten mainstream support in Congress.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThis handout satellite photo obtained from Planet Labs PBC shows a view of Rafah\u2019s Tel al-Sultan area in the southern Gaza Strip taken on October 23, 2025. (Photo by 2025 Planet Labs PBC \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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