A report by the Biden administration addressing whether "Israel" has violated US and international humanitarian law during its war against Gaza was supposed to be released today, however, three Senate aides and a House aide told Politico that it has been delayed. 

This report, reportedly worked on by the US State Department for months, is supposedly set to determine whether "Israel" has violated international humanitarian law since its war on Gaza started, which will in turn determine whether the US will stop aiding "Israel" with military assistance. 

However, the aides, who prefer to remain anonymous said that the report will not be done by today, its initial deadline.

Without giving any clear reason for this delay, the Biden administration informed The Hill in an email that it would miss the deadline. According to the email, the report is "briefly delayed" with no specification of a new timeline. 

As they were given anonymity to address the internal process, a senior administration official revealed that they predict it will "be delayed by less than a week."

On the afternoon of May 7, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, who pointed out that the deadline is not a requirement, but rather a self-imposed one, informed reporters that the report is not finished yet, adding "We are trying very hard to meet that deadline … It’s possible it slips just a little bit, but we are trying to get it done by tomorrow." 

The National Security Council deferred to the State Department upon being asked about the reason behind the delay, however, the latter did not immediately reply to a request for comment, according to Politico. 

Providing 'Israel' with weapons illegal, lawyers say 

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Politico obtained a copy of a letter sent on the night of May 6 by 185 lawyers, 27 of whom are in the administration, to top US officials informing them that aiding "Israel" with weapons is illegal. 

A former State Department official, Josh Paul, who took part in transferring arms to US allies and resigned back in November revealed to Politico that potential actions to be taken by lawmakers involve work on legislation to block arms transfers, and requesting clarification and documentation from the administration, or attempting to push the US to go through the process of determining compliance again. 

Read more: Annelle Sheline resigns from US State Dept. over Gaza genocide support

US to closely monitor Israeli military actions in Rafah: White House

The White House said on May 7 it was hopeful "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance group Hamas could "close the remaining gaps" in their ceasefire talks.

"A close assessment of the two sides' positions suggests that they should be able to close the remaining gaps, and we're going to do everything we can to support that process," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Kirby said the fact that "Israel", Hamas' mediator Qatar, and CIA chief William Burns were all going to be present at the talks in Cairo indicated that the talks were at an advanced stage.

"Everybody's coming to the table," the spokesperson said. "That's not insignificant."

Asked what the assessment was based on, Kirby mentioned that "there were amendments offered" by Hamas and "it's based on our understanding of where the text is right now."

He expressed the White House's hope for news "very very soon" but said it would be "foolhardy" to predict when the negotiations might bear fruit.

Touching on the Israeli ground invasion of the densely-populated city of Rafah, the spokesperson said the White House has been told by Israeli officials that the attack on Rafah in southern Gaza last night was "limited and designed to cut off Hamas' ability to smuggle weapons" into the besieged Strip.

The Israeli operation was of "limited scope, scale, and duration," he added.