US army major resigns in protest over Israel-Gaza war

In a letter released on Monday Harrison Mann, an army major, explained to his colleagues at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) that his November resignation was in fact due to "moral injury" stemming from US support for Israel's war in Gaza and the harm caused to Palestinians.

"I was afraid. Afraid of violating our professional norms. Afraid of disappointing officers I respect. Afraid you would feel betrayed. I'm sure some of you will feel that way reading this," Mann wrote in a letter shared with colleagues last month and published on his LinkedIn profile.

Mann said he felt shame and guilt for helping advance US policy that he said contributed to the mass killing of Palestinians.

"The past months have presented us with the most horrific and heartbreaking images imaginable — sometimes playing on the news in our own spaces — and I have been unable to ignore the connection between those images and my duties here. This caused me incredible shame and guilt," Mann wrote.

Mann would be the first known DIA official to quit over US support to Israel.

An American airman Aaron Bushnell fatally set himself on fire in February outside Israel's embassy in Washington and other military personnel have protested.

More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and 78,827 wounded in Israel's relentless bombing and shelling of Gaza. There has been increasing concern about the lack of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza by Israel, and growing international warnings about starvation taking lives.