U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israel demanding it improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or risk losing crucial security assistance.
The letter was supposed to be a private, diplomatic communication and was not intended for the public, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said at a press conference Tuesday.
“What we have seen over the past few months is that the level of humanitarian assistance has not been sustained,” adding, “Ultimately, we did not see our concerns sufficiently addressed, which is why the two secretaries sent the letter they did,” Miller warned.
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National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tried to assuage fears and told reporters that the letter was not meant as a threat. “The letter was simply meant to reiterate the sense of urgency we feel and the seriousness with which we feel about the need for an increase, dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance. And that’s what you can do with your friend. That’s what you can do with your ally. And it’s not the first time we’ve communicated that to Israel. But hopefully we won’t have to communicate it again.”
Some critics took issue with the letter not being a threat.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Aug. 19, 2024. (Office of the Prime Minister)
“I’m not sure which is worse to consider, that threatening an ally is a necessary pre-election political theater to pacify radical pro-Hamas leftists or that it’s actually U.S. policy to cut off arms to Israel if Israel doesn’t agree to feed, fuel and fund Hamas,” Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former NSC official in the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital.
“Because let’s be clear, that’s what this is really all about – whether Hamas survives by controlling humanitarian aid and its distribution,” Goldberg said.
The letter, which was first obtained by Axios, expressed its “deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza” and is particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government, including halting commercial imports and denying or impeding nearly 90% of humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza in September, are “contributing to an accelerated deterioration in the conditions in…
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