The US government on Monday confirmed itidentified "gross violations of human rights" by five Israeli military units before the start of the Gaza war on October 7.
"We found five Israeli units responsible for individual incidents of gross violations of human rights. All of these were incidents much before October 7, and none took place in Gaza," Deputy US State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel said in response to a question in Washington.
"Four of these units have effectively remediated these violations, which is what we expect partners to do," Patel added.
Regarding the fifth battalion, the Israeli government had shared "additional information" with the US and the two governments are still having conversations about it.
Media reports suggest that the ongoing investigation is likely to be into the Israel Defense Forces battalion "Netzah Yehuda."
Patel did not say what kind of human rights violations were involved. However, they did not take place in the Gaza Strip, the spokesman said.
Last week, the US broadcaster ABC News reported that the US had abandoned plans to sanction Israeli military units for their actions against civilians in the West Bank.
According to the report, Israel had promised to take measures to remedy abuses, the broadcaster reported, citing a letter from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson.
Patel did not say whether sanctions were still being considered.
However, he emphasized that restrictions on US aid are generally possible if US requirements are not met.
On February 8, US President Joe Biden demanded written assurances from foreign governments that no human rights would be violated with military aid from the US.
The US State Department must inform Congress of the process in a report - the deadline for this is May 8. Countries whose US aid has been authorized by Congress and which are currently involved in an armed conflict, including Israel, are affected. If the assurances are not provided within a certain timeframe, military support is to be interrupted.
CNN reported at the weekend, citing a US government representative, that there was disagreement in the US State Department as to whether Israel's assurances in this regard should be accepted as "credible and reliable."