US says Israel must up Gaza aid or risk arms halt
The Biden administration has provided a 30-day ultimatum to the country
What happened
The Biden administration warned Israel in an Oct. 13 letter that U.S. military aid was at risk unless the Israeli government allowed significantly more food, medicine and other humanitarian aid into Gaza within 30 days, U.S. officials confirmed Tuesday, after Axios' Barak Ravid posted the letter. The sharply worded missive, from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to their Israeli counterparts, is the "strongest such warning" in Israel's yearlong campaign to "root out Hamas militants," Reuters said.
Who said what
Blinken and Austin said to continue qualifying for military assistance under U.S. law, Israel must allow at least 350 aid trucks a day into Gaza, implement "adequate humanitarian pauses" to allow aid delivery and vaccinations, and stop isolating northern Gaza, among other demands. Their letter was sent amid "growing frustration in the administration that despite repeated and increasingly vocal requests to scale back offensive operations against Hamas, Israel's bombardment has led to unnecessary civilian deaths," The Associated Press said. Blinken made similar demands in April, but after a period of improvement, Israel reduced aid deliveries to almost nothing in recent weeks, officials said.
Israel is "highly dependent on U.S. military aid as it fights a war on several fronts," Axios said. An Israeli official said the letter "is being thoroughly reviewed" and Israel "intends to address the concerns" with U.S. officials.
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What next?
The Biden team's "reluctance" Tuesday to "confirm that it would restrict arms shipments fueled immediate doubts about the seriousness of the warning," The Washington Post said. But the "30-day deadline set by the letter would fall after the election," The New York Times said, "potentially making it politically easier" for President Joe Biden to take stronger actions to ensure compliance.
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