In the nearly five months since the killings, The Intercept repeatedly asked the State Department about the incident, the status of investigations, and how the U.S. could continue sending Israel aid if it could not get straightforward answers on the case. (U.S. policy requires foreign governments to provide assurances they won’t violate international law with U.S. weapons; the U.S. found that Israel likely violated law with American weapons, but did not act on the conclusion.) On almost every occasion, Miller said the U.S. was asking Israel to investigate. 

On February 14, for example, after The Intercept asked about the range of material available for an investigation to proceed, Miller said the question is “appropriately addressed to the government of Israel,” but that the U.S. wanted the incident to be investigated. Several times after, Miller either did not have an update on the “ongoing” investigation, or said the department would “come back” after getting an answer.

After nearly 150 days, the State Department finally came back with answers: ones that relied wholly on Israeli claims — assertions the U.S. admitted it did not attempt to verify, that deflated upon the slightest provocation.