U.S. officials said Tuesday that if the Biden administration fails to authorize the delivery of more humanitarian aid to the nearly 2 million people trapped in the Gaza Strip within 30 days, it could trigger a cutoff of military aid. He said he had warned Israel.
The sharply worded warning was sent Sunday in a letter signed not by President Biden but by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. It was addressed to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
Some aides say the decision not to write the letter in Biden’s name is a measure of insulation from Vice President Kamala Harris, who as the Democratic presidential nominee has walked a fine line, rejecting any threats against Israel. He said that there is a possibility of giving. However, he urged that the war must end quickly to end the “heartbreaking” loss of life for Palestinians.
The written warning comes as a campaign warning from some progressives in the party that Biden and Harris should put more pressure on Israel to prevent civilian deaths in military operations in Gaza. It was submitted just three weeks before the US presidential election.
The letter was leaked publicly on Tuesday morning, a day after Harris said in a social media post that Israel needed to do more to allow aid to Gaza. Harris campaigned in Michigan on Tuesday. Michigan is a key battleground state with large Muslim and Arab-American voters, many of whom are furious at the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Israeli attack in Gaza. She plans to return to Michigan to campaign on Thursday and Friday.
It is unclear how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will react. But the letter expired after the U.S. presidential election, allowing Netanyahu to wait until it becomes clear whether he will negotiate with Harris or Donald J. Trump in January. There is a possibility that it will happen.
U.S. and United Nations officials have warned in recent weeks that the situation in the Gaza Strip, particularly in northern Gaza, is worsening as Israeli forces focus on operations against what they call Hamas strongholds in the area. .
“What we’ve seen over the past several months is that the level of humanitarian assistance is not maintained” in the Gaza Strip, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a news conference. “In fact, it’s down more than 50 percent from its peak.”
He added that Blinken and Austin “deemed it appropriate to make clear to the Israeli government that there are changes that need to be made” to increase aid from the currently “very low level.” . He said aid shipments to Gaza in September reached their lowest level since the Hamas-led attack on Israel a little more than a year ago.
Miller did not say what the possible consequences would be if Israel did not comply, but a copy of the letter posted online by Axios reporter Barak Ravid was said by U.S. officials to be authentic, making it clear that The possibility of halting military aid was raised. It invoked a U.S. law that prohibits military aid to countries found to be interfering with the delivery of U.S.-provided humanitarian aid.
Mr. Miller seemed to hint at that possibility, saying: We must conduct assessments to ensure that recipients of U.S. military aid are not arbitrarily refusing or obstructing the provision of humanitarian assistance to us. That is the law and we will of course follow the law. ”
The US has warned that military aid to Israel could be in jeopardy after the Biden administration announced it would send an advanced air defense system to protect Israel from missile attacks by Iran. is. Israel is preparing to attack Iran on October 1 in response to a barrage of Iranian territory.
Nearly a year of firmly warning Israel about the situation in the Gaza Strip has resulted in no serious penalties, but many experts are skeptical that a new U.S. warning will yield a different outcome. It was.
Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East peace negotiator now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, “Israel will do its best to give the appearance that it is improving the humanitarian situation, and no matter how serious its efforts are, Even if that happens, the government will cooperate with it.” “As the Iran-Israel crisis intensifies, believing that the administration will take action to limit U.S. military aid to Israel goes to breaking point,” he said.
But Biden administration officials say concerns about the situation in Gaza have grown rapidly in recent weeks.
“We now emphasize the U.S. government’s deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and urge urgent and sustained action this month to reverse this trajectory,” the letter from Blinken and Austin said. I am writing to make a request to your government.”
The letter sets out several specific criteria for Israel to meet, including that at least 350 aid trucks pass into the Gaza Strip per day and that “at least the next four months This includes “establishing an appropriate humanitarian pause” in military operations to allow for the delivery of aid and vaccinations. ”
These are all more specific requirements than Harris has publicly laid out, as she attempts to navigate between the party’s progressive wing, which calls for an end to arms shipments, and traditional support for Israel.
The letter does not include any reference to the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack that led to Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Instead, it began with a reminder of the pledge Israel made to Mr. Blinken in April, which resulted in a temporary increase in aid deliveries to Gaza.
U.S. officials are particularly concerned about northern Gaza, where about 400,000 Palestinians remain. Israel has warned of high risks from fighting in the area and ordered evacuations. The letter called on Israel to end the “isolation” of northern Gaza, reaffirming that “there is no Israeli government policy of forced evacuation of civilians from northern Gaza to the south.”
The letter also insists that Israel allow residents of the Almawashi humanitarian zone along the Gaza coast to move inland before the onset of winter.
White House national security press secretary John F. Kirby told reporters in a separate briefing that the letter reflected a “deep sense of alarm” within the Biden administration over the situation.
One sign of concern came in the form of Harris’ social media posts.
“The United Nations reports that no food has been coming into northern Gaza for almost two weeks,” Harris wrote on the government’s official account. “Israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need. Civilians must be protected and have access to food, water and medicine. International humanitarian law must be respected.”
Clearly conscious of the impact that U.S. policy was having on her electoral prospects, Harris, during a campaign stop in Michigan earlier this month, spoke to local Muslim and Arab-American leaders. I met with the people.
The 30-day deadline set in the letter will expire after the election, potentially making it politically easier for Mr. Biden to take stronger action against Israel than he has previously wanted.
State Department spokeswoman Miller said the 30-day period would give Israel “adequate” time to implement changes in aid delivery, rather than requiring “this has to happen overnight.” He said he was deaf.
Blinken sent a similar letter to Gallant in April, which Miller credited with prompting Israel to increase aid to Gaza. After the letter, Miller said that on some days as many as 300 to 400 aid trucks were entering Gaza. This is considered by US authorities to be a sufficient number. But he added that Blinken also made clear at the time that “the increase is not temporary and needs to be sustained.”
He added that the letter was intended for private diplomatic correspondence, but that the United States had confirmed its existence after it was leaked to the press.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting.
