US issues ultimatum to Israeli government over Gaza crisis

The Biden administration is issuing a new ultimatum to the Israeli government: address a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza within 30 days or risk restrictions on future U.S. military aid.

In a Sunday letter to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that the U.S. is deeply alarmed by the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and demanded more actions from Israel to allow aid to enter the territory, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.

He was confirming a CNN report from earlier Tuesday. According to a copy of the letter obtained by the network, the two officials called for “urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory.”

The Oct. 13 letter gives Israel 30 days to demonstrate its commitment to addressing a number of U.S. concerns, a deadline which would elapse following the presidential election in November. If Israel fails, it could risk facing additional hurdles to accessing U.S. foreign military financing.

It’s not clear how much progress Israel would have to make within that time frame to assuage the Biden administration. In the letter, Blinken and Austin outline specific action items for Israel to ameliorate the increased risk of starvation in the territory, including allowing at least 350 trucks a day to enter Gaza through the territory’s four major crossings ahead of winter. And the two want to see the U.S. and Israel create a new communication channel to discuss incidents surrounding civilians that would begin to be used by the end of this month.

The administration also wants Israel to implement pauses across Gaza to enable aid groups to distribute supplies and provide vaccinations over the next four months. And Israel must also allow people in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone inside Gaza to move inland before winter and improve security for humanitarian convoys and movements. Aid workers have been the subject of strikes by the Israeli military even when they’ve previously notified the Israel Defense Forces of their movements.

It’s not the first time the U.S. has sent a letter to Israel voicing concerns over its handling of humanitarian assistance. Kirby told reporters that Austin and Blinken sent a similar letter in April, and “received a constructive response from the Israelis.”

But this letter comes as Israel has threatened to launch a siege operation in northern Gaza to root out Hamas militants that have reemerged in that area of the war-torn enclave. The U.N. has warned that food has not entered northern Gaza since Oct. 1. Those claims prompted calls from Vice President Kamala Harris to Israel to ramp up humanitarian efforts.

And the disclosure of the letter also follows an Israeli airstrike over the weekend against the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza. Images of the aftermath of the attack, which Israel argues was a “precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center” near the hospital, circulated online showing civilians burning alive in tents.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the timing of the letter comes as “humanitarian aid still is stalling to get into Gaza.” Singh added that the U.S. is “looking to see concrete measures taken to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

Kirby emphasized that the letter “was not meant as a threat” and that this letter is part of ongoing conversations with the Israeli government over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“That's what you can do with your ally. And it's not the first time we've communicated that to Israel, but hopefully, you know, we won't have to communicate it again,” Kirby continued.

It is unlikely, however, that the U.S. would make good on threats to withhold foreign military financing to Israel. Over the past year, Israel has defied U.S. ultimatums and experienced little punishment from its ally. Just this week, the U.S. also announced it would deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to Israel (along with U.S. troops to operate it), providing a major upgrade to Israel’s defensive capabilities.

Paul McLeary contributed to this report.