In January 2025, it was reported that the US government has lifted an embargo on supplying 2000-pound bombs made by Boeing to Israel. The embargo was put in place by the previous administration because of the likelihood of these bombs being used in dense population centres in Gaza, and causing significant civilian casualties. The lifting of the embargo means these bombs will now be shipped to Israel, with no restrictions on their use in densely populated civilian areas of Gaza.

The International Court of Justice ruled in January 2024 that the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza amount to a “plausible risk of genocide”. In March 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories found ‘reasonable grounds’ genocide is being committed in Gaza. UN Experts have warned that “continuing arms transfers to Israel may be seen as knowingly providing assistance for operations that contravene international human rights and international humanitarian laws”. In situations of armed conflict, international humanitarian standards apply to corporations and individual business leaders, who must consider whether their operations contribute to violations. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) also provide that business should respect the standards of international humanitarian law in situations of armed conflict.

In this context, the Business and Human Resource Centre contacted Boeing and Caterpillar in February 2025 for information about how they are ensuring that they are not in violation of international law and the responsibility of businesses to take steps to avoid complicity in genocidal acts and war crimes in situations of armed conflict. Neither company responded.