The Growing U.S.-Israel Rift Thread

(The Guardian) During the 90-minute meeting last Tuesday, defense secretary Lloyd Austin pressed his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, to ensure that any Israeli military operation in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah would prioritize the protection of civilians and secure the delivery of aid, according to a Pentagon official.

Speaking after his meeting with Gallant, which also included the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen CQ Brown, Austin said it was a moral and strategic imperative to protect Palestinian civilians, but there was nothing to suggest that he sought to condition future US military aid to Israel on an improvement of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The meeting at the Pentagon came a day after Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, abruptly canceled a high-level visit to Washington over the US abstention in a UN security council vote to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.

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The US authorized the transfer of thousands of bombs to Israel on the same day Israeli airstrikes killed seven aid workers working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza, the Washington Post reported, citing multiple officials.

The state department approved the transfer of more than 1,000 MK82 500lb bombs, more than 1,000 small-diameter bombs, and fuses for MK80 bombs to Israel, it said. The transfer authorization was also reported by CNN.

According to the Post, a state department confirmed the approval and said it occurred sometime “prior” to when the Israeli aircraft struck the aid convoy. A day after the attack, Joe Biden released a statement that he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the deaths of the aid workers, which included a US-Canada dual citizen.

Last week, the US reportedly authorized the transfer of similar weaponry worth billions of dollars to Israel, including more than 1,800 MK-84 2,000lb bombs and 500 MK-82 500lb bombs.

Washington gives $3.8bn in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally. The latest transfers came from authorizations granted by Congress several years before the Israel-Gaza war began in October, but the US government has the authority to suspend an arms package any time before delivery. Asked why the Biden administration did not pause the process after the Israeli drone attack on the WCK humanitarian aid convoy, the state department spokesperson did not comment, the Post wrote.

(The Guardian) The reported approval last week of billions of dollars worth of US bombs and planes for Israel, as well as the reported transfer of thousands of bombs to Israel on the same day Israeli airstrikes killed seven aid workers, comes amid growing questions as to why continued US military aid is not being made conditional on a change of Israeli behavior to limit the civilian death toll and significantly expand aid delivery.

Among the weapons that were reportedly approved last week to Israel were 1,800 MK-84 2,000lb bombs, which can flatten an apartment block and leave an 11-metre deep crater. It is a devastating weapon that has reportedly been used frequently by the Israeli air force, playing a significant role in the estimated 33,000 death toll in Gaza since October.

The news that the nearly $4bn a year arms pipeline from the US to Israel remained in full uninterrupted flow drew a furious reaction from critics, who pointed to the irony of the Biden administration urging a ceasefire and the delivery of food aid into Gaza while supplying the weapons that fuel both the war and the humanitarian crisis.

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Administration officials have faced questions almost daily as to why Joe Biden has not restricted or conditioned military aid on a change of Israeli behavior in Gaza.

The stock response has been that the Biden administration, while urging Israel to do more to protect the civilians of Gaza, should do nothing to limit Israel’s ability to defend itself, a touchstone of US foreign policy for more than half a century.

Democrats of all hues, whether they support the current policy or not, say that a change of course by the Biden administration on arms supplies is highly unlikely, for both policy and political reasons. “He is not going to do it. He fundamentally believes Israel has a right to defend itself, and he believes that in his heart,” said a former senior Biden administration official of the president, adding: “There is zero probability in my view.”

Biden’s personal sense of commitment to Israel, cemented over decades of close contact with Israeli leaders, is a large part of the reason his administration is so resistant to change.

(The Guardian) The World Central Kitchen (WCK) was one of few aid organizations permitted by Israeli authorities to deliver food to northern Gaza and has brought hundreds of tonnes of food aid into the Palestinian territory.

On Monday night, a convoy of three armored cars belonging to WCK was attacked while leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah.

According to a report in the Israeli daily Haaretz, an Israeli drone fired three missiles at the convoy of three armored cars – all of which were clearly marked on the roof and sides with the WCK’s logo – as they travelled back along a route pre-approved and coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

An Hermes 450 drone struck one car, causing some of the passengers to abandon it and switch to the other two vehicles. According to Haaretz, the team notified the IDF they had been attacked, but another missile then hit the second car. Passengers in the third car tried to help the wounded, the newspaper said. According to the Guardian’s geolocation of the strikes, the last car was hit by a third missile about a mile farther south.

Video obtained by Reuters showed a large hole in the roof of a four-wheel-drive WCK vehicle and its burnt and torn interior, as well as paramedics moving bodies into a hospital and displaying the passports of three of those killed. The seven victims were named by WCK as Britons John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who were working for the charity’s security team. The team’s leader, Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom, 43, an Australian national, also died, along with American-Canadian dual citizen Jacob Flickinger, 33, Polish national Damian Sobol, 35, and Palestinian Saif Issam Abu Taha, 25.

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The international food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) has called for an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes that killed seven of its aid workers in Gaza on Monday, as Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu were expected to discuss the attack on the phone.

WCK asked Australia, Canada, Poland, the US and the UK, whose citizens were killed, to join it in demanding “an independent, third-party’’ inquiry into the strikes.

“This was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles,” the charity said in a statement -- All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route and humanitarian mission. An independent investigation is the only way to determine the truth of what happened, ensure transparency and accountability for those responsible, and prevent future attacks on humanitarian aid workers.

(The Guardian) Biden and Netanyahu speaking now in first call since aid workers were killed
Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu are now speaking for the first time since the Israeli attack on seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen, CNN reports.

The phone call comes after the US president has increasingly criticized the Israeli prime minister for failing to protect relief workers amid ongoing airstrikes in Gaza.

The White House previously said that Biden is outraged at the killing of relief workers. But Biden has not made changes to the US’s support of Israel or add conditions on any weapons sold.

Prior to Thursday’s conversation, a US official said that Biden is expected to bring up the need for better protections of aid workers and press for increased food deliveries in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza face starvation as Israel’s war in the territory continues.

More than 25 children in Gaza have died from complications associated with malnourishment, the World Health Organization reported.

(The Guardian) A phone call between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu has ended after about 45 minutes, the Times of Israel is reporting.

We’ll bring you more information as soon as we hear it.

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The White House has confirmed that a phone call between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu has ended.

A readout of the call will be issued soon, it said.

The call between the two leaders lasted less than 30 minutes, Reuters reported, citing a White House official.

(The Guardian) Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu also “discussed public Iranian threats against Israel and the Israeli people”, the White House said.

Biden “made clear that the US strongly supports Israel in the face of those threats”, it said.

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The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is currently holding a news conference in Brussels, where he is speaking about the recent call between Joe Biden and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden “emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable”, Blinken said, echoing the White House’s readout of the phone call.

The US president “made clear the need for Israel to announce a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers,” Blinken said. -- He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps He underscored as well that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians.