U.S. warns Israel it may restrict military aid if Gaza humanitarian situation doesn't improve

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has warned Israel that if the humanitarian situation in Gaza doesn't improve within the next 30 days, the U.S. may restrict military assistance to Israel.

In a letter Sunday to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the U.S. must continually assess under its own law whether Israel is “directly or indirectly” impeding the transport of U.S. humanitarian assistance to Gaza. If it is, they warned that the U.S. could halt additional foreign military financing, according to two U.S. officials and a defense official.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed the existence of the letter in a briefing Tuesday but would not comment on what consequences Israel would face if the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza does not improve.The Biden administration sent a similar warning to Israeli officials in April ahead of a required report, and the U.S. ultimately determined the actions taken by Israel to improve the humanitarian situation afterward met the requirements under the law.

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“We have been having a number of ongoing conversations with them about the very serious decrease in the level of humanitarian assistance,” Miller said Tuesday. “Ultimately, we did not see our concerns sufficiently addressed, which is why the two secretaries sent the letter.”

The letter Sunday comes as the situation in the Gaza Strip further deteriorates. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health on Tuesday, 55 people were killed and 329 were injured in the prior 24 hours. The ministry says the total death toll in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel is more than 42,000.

The U.S. sent the letter even as it continued to provide help to its close ally. On Monday, the U.S. announced it was sending an advanced anti-missile system and about 100 American troops to Israel amid turmoil in the Middle East involving Israel, Lebanon and Iran.

Meanwhile, a number of pro-Palestinian organizations, including Oxfam, Medical Aid for Palestinians and ActionAid, called on global leaders Tuesday to take action to end Israel's assault on Gaza, saying in a joint release that the northern part of Gaza is "being wiped off the map."

Progressive members of the Democratic Party, as well as advocacy organizations like IfNotNow, have been calling on the Biden administration for months to halt arms to Israel.

“This letter is a clear sign that the Biden Administration is feeling the pressure from the vast majority of Americans — including a majority of American Jews — who support leveraging US military funding for the Israeli military to push for a ceasefire," IfNotNow's national spokesperson Eva Borgwardt said in a statement. "The administration can and must act now — each day the Biden Administration waits to cut off the flow of bombs, planes, and missiles, the Israeli military uses U.S. weapons to extinguish more Palestinian lives."