Situation in Gaza

USA threatens Israel to cut military aid

A little Palestinian girl on the back of a truck carrying aid supplies for the Gaza Strip

(Bild: APA/AFP/Omar AL-QATTAA)

The US government has called on Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Failure to do so could result in cuts to military aid. The Israeli government has now reported the transportation of aid supplies in 50 trucks to the area.

In a letter to the government in Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin express "deep concern" about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and call for "urgent and sustained action" on the part of the Israeli government. According to the letter, the volume of aid deliveries has fallen by more than 50 percent since the spring.

In this context, reference is made to possible violations of US laws on arms exports. These include the so-called "Leahy Law". It prohibits the USA from providing military aid to armed forces that are involved in serious human rights violations. Critics point to doubts that Israel is complying with this requirement. According to human rights organizations, the blockade of aid supplies, airstrikes on residential areas and the lack of protection for civilians in the Gaza Strip violate basic human rights standards.

According to Israeli figures, around 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 41,600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 96,600 injured by Israel's counterattacks in the Gaza Strip, according to the health authority. Around 80,000 homes have been destroyed so far.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Israel rejects these accusations and emphasizes that its operations comply with international law. It is not "about any threats", said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Tuesday, but about "results" for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. Washington has now set Israel a deadline of 30 days.

On Wednesday, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, also warned of a famine in view of the impending winter. "Hunger and malnutrition are unfortunately very likely," said Lazzarini at a press conference in Berlin. The hunger in the Palestinian coastal strip is "artificially created", says Lazzarini and calls for truck convoys with food to be allowed to pass through the border posts into the Gaza Strip.

A short time later, the Israeli government announced the transportation of aid in 50 trucks to the area. The Israeli authority responsible for Palestinian affairs, Cogat, announced that the supplies would include food, water and medicine.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini: "Famine in the Gaza Strip is artificial."

(Bild: AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)

USA is against "campaign in Lebanon"
The US government also expressed clear criticism of the Israeli air force's attacks on targets in Lebanon's capital Beirut. "We have made it clear that we are against the campaign" that has been observed in Beirut in recent weeks, said Miller.

The USA is Israel's most important ally and also its largest arms supplier. Since September 23, the Israeli army had massively stepped up its attacks against targets of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Initially, the airstrikes were mainly directed against Hezbollah strongholds in the south of the country and in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Most recently, the army also attacked targets in the center of the capital as well as in the north and east of the country.

The US government also criticizes Israel's offensive in Lebanon.

(Bild: APA/AFP)

Double strategy of the Americans
However, the USA has recently increased its military support. The Department of Defense announced that the first components of the THAAD missile defence system and US military personnel had arrived in Israel on Monday. The system is intended to strengthen the country's defense capabilities.

This dual strategy illustrates the US government's balancing act: on the one hand, Washington repeatedly emphasizes its security policy commitment and Israel's right to self-defence. Israel receives comprehensive military and intelligence support. On the other hand, the US government is under domestic political pressure. Opponents of the war sharply criticize Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip and demand a stop to US arms deliveries to the country.