WASHINGTON – The Biden administration has warned Israel that if the humanitarian situation in Gaza does not improve within the next 30 days, the US could cut military aid to Israel.
In a letter dated Sunday to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the US said “continually based on its own law whether Israel” directly or indirectly” the transportation of American humanitarian aid to Gaza. If so, they warned the U.S. could cut off additional foreign military financing, according to two U.S. officials and a defense official.
State Department spokesman Matt Miller confirmed the existence of the letter in a briefing on Tuesday, but would not comment on what consequences Israel would face if the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza does not improve. The Biden administration sent a similar warning to Israeli officials in April. of a required report, and the US ultimately determined that actions Israel took to improve the humanitarian situation thereafter met the requirements of the law.
“We have had a number of ongoing conversations with them about the very serious decline in the level of humanitarian assistance,” Miller said Tuesday. “Ultimately, we saw that our concerns were not sufficiently addressed and that is why the two secretaries sent the letter.”
The letter comes on Sunday as the situation in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, 55 people have been killed and 329 injured in the past 24 hours. The ministry says the total death toll in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel is more than 42,000.
The US sent the letter even as it continued to provide aid to its closest ally. On Monday, the US announced it would send an advanced anti-missile system and about 100 American troops to Israel, amid unrest in the Middle East involving Israel, Lebanon and Iran.
Meanwhile, a number of pro-Palestinian organizations, including Oxfam, Medical Aid for Palestinians and ActionAid, on Tuesday called on world leaders to take action to end Israel’s assault on Gaza, saying in a joint statement that the northern part of Gaza’ is swept away’. the map.”
Progressive members of the Democratic Party, as well as advocacy groups like IfNotNow, have been calling on the Biden administration for months to cut off weapons to Israel.
“This letter is a clear sign that the Biden administration is feeling pressure from the vast majority of Americans – including a majority of American Jews – who support the use of US military funding for the Israeli military to push for a ceasefire -the-fire,” says IfNotNow’s national spokesperson Eva. Borgwardt said in a statement: “The government can and must act now – every day the Biden administration waits to cut off the flow of bombs, planes and missiles, the Israeli military uses American weapons to snuff out more Palestinian lives. ”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
