The Biden-Harris administration is warning Israel that if the humanitarian conditions in Gaza do n’t improve, it runs the risk of losing military aid, according to multiple reports. According to The Daily Caller News Foundation, Defense Secretary Antony Blinken and Secretary of State Lloyd Austin wrote in a text on Sunday that the Biden-Harris management may withdraw military aid if Israel does not allow a constant flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza within the next 30 days.
Specific demands include that Israel take steps to stop implementing some evacuation orders, stop hundreds of aid trucks entering Gaza each day, and invite Israeli troops to leave “non-operational parts of the enclave.”
According to a copy of the letter obtained by reporter Barak Ravid, Blinken and Austin told Dermer and Gallant,” Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for U.S. policy under NSM-20 and relevant U.S. law.” NSM-20 refers to U.S. laws that define the restrictions on how military aid can be distributed to other allies.
According to various reports, the Israeli government in April agreed to adhere to the U.S.’s desired conditions to allow aid to be delivered to Gaza. However, according to Blinken and Austin, the Biden-Harris administration believes that Israel has so far failed to meet these standards.
The Daily Caller goes on to say that the UN has alleged that Israel has occasionally allegedly” stonewalled” some aid into Gaza over the past year, which the Palestinian people desperately need in this current conflict. According to multiple reports, Israel claims to be taking a significant amount of steps to ensure the delivery of aid into the enclave and that it has no intentions to” starve” the area.
The Biden-Harris administration has repeatedly tried to broker a ceasefire agreement, but these efforts have largely failed. They have urged caution in Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.