Republican lawmaker calls for new probe into Israel’s 1967 USS Liberty attack

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has called for a new investigation into Israel’s deadly attack on the USS Liberty, urging recognition for the survivors and those killed in a probe that he says is 59 years overdue.

Israeli jets and torpedo boats attacked the US ship off Egypt on June 8, 1967, killing 34 US service members and wounding more than 170. Twelve survivors watched from the gallery of the US House of Representatives.

Massie said the unarmed ship was flying a clearly visible US flag when it came under sustained attack.

“According to eyewitness accounts, the Israelis machine gunned the lifeboats that they put down,” Massie said. “They machine gunned the firefighters who were on the deck.”

Israeli officials have long claimed the attack was a case of mistaken identity, but Massie said senior officials, including former CIA figures, rejected that explanation.

The USS Liberty anniversary has renewed relevance because Massie has criticised Washington’s long-standing reluctance to hold Israel accountable, even when US citizens are killed. He has also opposed the current war on Iran, which Israel dragged the US into, and which has killed at least 13 US troops and wounded more than 380.