US Can't Decide if Israel Is Blocking Aid – But It'll Send Bombs Either Way

Biden gives Israel 30 days to boost aid to Gaza or risk cuts in military assistance. Will it be another empty threat?

Early Thursday morning, I was woken by a distressed call from a doctor in Gaza, telling me of an Israeli strike on a school in the Jabalia refugee camp that killed dozens of Palestinians and injured scores of others. Hours later, I asked the State Department whether the US is actually enforcing its laws regarding military aid to governments committing violations of international humanitarian law.

The response from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller? 

He accused me of wanting to end all US support for Israel. 

Here’s how part of the exchange went:

Zeteo: There have been previous instances for which this threat has been floated [by the US]… and yet there hasn't been any actualization of it. 

Miller: So, I know that your objective is to see the end of US support to Israel. Our objective is to see Israel take steps to increase humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza…

(watch the video above for the full exchange)

My question was centered around a contradiction: On Sunday, the Biden administration sent a letter to Israel, warning that if it did not do more to boost aid into Gaza, there could be US policy “implications.” But just days later, Politico reported that a State Department official told aid groups in late August that the US would not withhold weapons to Israel for blocking food and medicine into Gaza.

So, the series of events necessitated a question as to whether the US would or would not enforce its own laws, especially since it evidently has not over the past year, despite human rights organizations, UN officials, and international courts of law suggesting Israel has indeed violated international law.

Beyond this specific moment, a broader pattern has emerged in how the US has behaved over a year of the Israeli government’s alleged human rights violations. The Biden administration cannot decide whether Israel is blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza because the situation is so “complicated.” Yet, there appears to be no corresponding complexity in deciding whether or not to send more bombs to Israel.

Empty Threat? 

On one hand, Sunday’s warning letter was among the strongest known US communications to Israel over the last year – it included specific demands, revealed previous US attempts to raise concerns of civilian harm have failed, and suggested material consequences. At the same time, however, the letter gives the Israeli government 30 days to act, and follows a year of the US urging its “partners in Israel” to essentially commit genocide more gently.

Thirty days is a lot of time. To put that in context, Israeli forces killed more than 10,000 people in Gaza between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7 (While some may argue that’s when the rate of killing was at its highest, the number of people left to treat patients or keep track of deaths at all has drastically declined — some estimates say the true death toll may have already surpassed 100,000).

The 30-day deadline will also come after the US election. Critics have panned the timing as a ploy to forestall action and lazily throw a bone to voters demanding change, without necessarily guaranteeing it.

And that tracks with other instances of Biden warning he would take action against Israel, but backing off when push came to shove.