An Israeli soldier cleans a weapon, near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Israel on May 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Biden administration said on May 10 that Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.

The administration’s findings of “reasonable” evidence to conclude that its ally had breached international law in its conduct of the war in Gaza, released in a summary of a report being delivered to Congress on Friday, represent the strongest such statement from Biden officials.

But its caveat that it was unable immediately to link specific U.S. weapons to individual strikes by Israeli forces in Gaza could give the administration leeway in any future decision on whether to restrict U.S. provisions of offensive weapons to Israel.

The administration’s findings, a first-of-its-kind assessment that was compelled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress, comes after seven months of airstrikes, ground fighting and aid restrictions that have claimed the lives of nearly 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

A soon-to-be-released Biden administration review of Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in its war in Gaza does not conclude that Israel has violated the terms for their use, according to three people who have been briefed on the matter.

Also Read | Biden says U.S. won’t supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah, in warning to ally

The report is expected to be sharply critical of Israel, even though it doesn’t conclude that Israel violated terms of U.S.-Israel weapons agreements, according to one U.S. official.

The administration’s findings on its close ally’s conduct of the war, a first-of-its-kind assessment that was compelled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress, comes after seven months of airstrikes, ground fighting and aid restrictions that have claimed the lives of nearly 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Mr. Biden has tried to walk an ever-finer line in his support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Hamas. He has faced growing rancor at home and abroad over the soaring Palestinian death toll and the onset of famine, caused in large part by Israeli restrictions on the movement of food and aid into Gaza. Tensions have been heightened further in recent weeks by Mr. Netanyahu’s pledge to expand the Israeli military’s offensive in the crowded southern city of Rafah, despite Mr. Biden’s adamant opposition.

Mr. Biden is in the closing months of a tough reelection campaign against Donald Trump. He faces demands from many Democrats that he cut the flow of offensive weapons to Israel and denunciation from Republicans who accuse him of wavering on support for Israel at its time of need.

Two U.S. officials and a third person briefed on the national security memorandum to be submitted by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Congress discussed the findings before the report’s release. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not yet public.

No further details were immediately available on the results of the administration’s review. A senior Biden administration official said the memorandum is expected to be released later Friday, but declined to comment on its conclusions.

Axios first reported on the memorandum’s findings.

The Democratic administration took one of the first steps toward conditioning military aid to Israel in recent days when it paused a shipment of 3,500 bombs out of concern over Israel’s threatened offensive on Rafah, a southern city crowded with more than a million Palestinians, a senior administration official said.

The presidential directive, agreed to in February, obligated the Defense and State departments to conduct “an assessment of any credible reports or allegations that such defence articles and, as appropriate, defence services, have been used in a manner not consistent with international law, including international humanitarian law.”

The agreement also obligated them to tell Congress whether they deemed that Israel has acted to “arbitrarily to deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly,” delivery of any U.S.-supported humanitarian aid into Gaza for starving civilians there.

Lawmakers and others who advocated for the review said Mr. Biden and previous American leaders have followed a double standard when enforcing U.S. laws governing how foreign militaries use U.S. support, an accusation the Biden administration denies. They had urged the administration to make a straightforward legal determination of whether there was credible evidence that specific Israeli airstrikes on schools, crowded neighborhoods, medical workers, aid convoys and other targets, and restrictions on aid shipments into Gaza, violated the laws of war and human rights.

Their opponents argued that a U.S. finding against Israel would weaken it at a time it is battling Hamas and other Iran-backed groups. Any sharply critical findings on Israel are sure to add to pressure on Mr. Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military and further heighten tensions with Mr. Netanyahu’s hard-right government over its conduct of the war against Hamas.

Any finding against Israel also could endanger Mr. Biden’s support in this year’s presidential elections from some voters who keenly support Israel.

At the time the White House agreed to the review, it was working to head off moves from Democratic lawmakers and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to start restricting shipments of weapons to Israel.

Washington:

The White House said Monday it was “perplexed” and “disappointed” by the cancelation of an Israeli delegation’s planned visit to discuss US concerns over a possible offensive in southern Gaza.

Israel scrapped the visit after the United States abstained from a UN Security Council vote demanding an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza — a move that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said hurt Israel’s fight against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“We’re kind of perplexed” by the cancelation, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists, saying it “seems like the (Israeli) prime minister’s office is choosing to create a perception of daylight here when they don’t need to.”

Kirby had earlier said Washington was “very disappointed” the delegation would not be visiting, and that the Security Council abstention “does not represent a shift” in US policy.

“We’ve been consistent in our support (for) a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal,” he said, referring to efforts to free the roughly 130 people still believed to be held in Gaza after they were seized in a shock Hamas attack on October 7.

That attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli figures.

Israel’s military campaign in response to eliminate Hamas has killed more than 32,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The United States has backed Israel with both military and diplomatic support, but has voiced frustration with Netanyahu as the civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip mounts.

While the delegation’s trip has been canceled, a separate visit by Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is proceeding.

Kirby said Gallant was meeting with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday, and the Pentagon said the minister would meet US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin the following day.

Austin “is still planning to meet with Minister Gallant,” Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists.

The Austin-Gallant talks will cover “efforts to secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas” and “the need for more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians,” Ryder said.

They will also discuss “plans to ensure the safety of the more than one million people sheltering in Rafah while also ensuring Hamas can no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The story so far: The Biden administration on October 20 sought emergency assistance from the U.S. Congress amounting to $14.3 billion in aid to Israel amid the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza Strip. In an address to the nation, U.S. President Joe Biden declared his support for Israel [and Ukraine as well, against Russia] and said that the urgent funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as humanitarian aid and border management is a “smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations.”

President Biden’s address came after his quick trip to Israel where he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and voiced his support for the country after an attack by Hamas militants on October 7.

“I understand. Many Americans understand,” Mr. Biden said as he wrapped up his stay in Tel Aviv, likening the October 7 Hamas assault to the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people. “You can’t look at what has happened here… and not scream out for justice,” he said. 

President Biden was also scheduled to meet Arab leaders but Jordan called off the planned after the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that at least 500 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike at the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza city on October 17. The Israeli military said it had no involvement and pinned the blame on a misfired Palestinian rocket.

U.S. foreign aid for Israel

The U.S. has historically maintained a supportive view of Israel. It was the first country to recognise Israel as a sovereign nation in 1948. Since then, it has backed the West Asian country in international forums, mediated discussions in the geopolitically troubled region, and provided financial assistance.

A report published by the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) in March 2023 says that Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. The U.S. has provided Israel with $158 billion (not adjusted for inflation) in bilateral assistance and missile defence funding till date.

Although the U.S. provided economic assistance to Israel from 1971 to 2007, almost all current U.S. bilateral aid to Israel is in the form of military assistance. 

The two governments signed a 10-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2016, which covers years 2019 through 2028. U.S. pledged to provide Israel with $38 billion in military aid ($33 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants plus $5 billion in missile defence appropriations), subject to congressional allocation.

For the 2023 financial year, the U.S. Congress authorised $520 million for joint U.S.-Israel defence programmes, which includes $500 million for missile defence, under the James M. Inhofe National Defence Authorisation Act for the year. According to the terms of the MoU, the U.S. Congress approved $3.8 billion for Israel under foreign military financing and missile defence in the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, and added another $98.58 million in funding for other cooperative defence and non-defence programmes, the CRS report said. 

The U.S. also provides financial aid for Israel’s Iron dome, the sophisticated air defence system designed to intercept short-range rockets fired from up to 70km away. The U.S. began financially supporting Israel’s development of Iron Dome in 2011.

Wartime assistance to Israel

Out of President Biden’s $14.3 billion proposed aid to Israel, over $4 billion has been allocated to defence-related activities in Israel, including equipment and military education and training. Another $801 million, if approved, will go towards procuring ammunition, improving ammunition plants and equipment.

In compliance with its support for Israel’s Iron Dome, President Biden’s proposal includes $4 billion for procuring enhanced system capabilities for both Iron Dome and David’s Sling, and another $1.2 billion for research and development of the Iron Beam defence system capabilities.

The proposal also allocates $3.5 billion towards refugee assistance from the war in both Ukraine and Israel, and another $5.7 billion to meet humanitarian needs stemming from the war in Ukraine, the situation in Gaza, and the regional and global impacts of those crises.

Where does Jerusalem stand in Israel-U.S. relations?

In 2017, former U.S. President Donald Trump reversed decades of policy by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He called his decision “long overdue,” despite warnings that the move could deepen the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Israel views Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinian Authority, the provisional government in the West Bank, sees the eastern half of the city as the capital of their future state.

The U.S. Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995, calling on the United States to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognising it as Israel’s capital. But Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, kept postponing the move, six months at a time.

The U.S. now operates an embassy in Jerusalem; it was opened in May 2018 under former President Trump.

UNSC support

The U.S.’s support to Israel reflects in its stand at international forums, like the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). On Wednesday, the U.S. vetoed a UNSC resolution that called for humanitarian access to Gaza Strip and a pause in the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas militants. Twelve members voted in favour of the draft text framed by Brazil, while Russia and Britain abstained.

Russia also attempted to bring in a similar resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Monday but it failed to pass.

Over the years, the U.S. has blocked multiple UNSC resolutions concerning the situation in West Asia, “including the Palestinian question,” hence maintaining its position as one of the strongest allies of the country.

What U.S. interests does Israel serve?

Israel’s technical advancements have solidified its position as one of the most sophisticated weapons manufacturers in the world. According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel was the tenth-largest weapons exporter between 2018 and 2022. Although the U.S. tops the list, it still depends on Israel for the manufacture of parts of its weapons, including the F-35— among the most advanced fighter jets in the world. Israeli companies make F-35 wing sets (Israel Aerospace Industries) and helmets (Elbit Systems), a CRS report said.

Israel also holds considerable power in West Asia, the shatterbelt region in which U.S has recorded immense interest. Soon after Israel was formed in 1948, Arab nations like Egypt, Jordan, and Syria attacked the newly-formed territory in the first Arab-Israeli war. However, over the years, the geopolitics of the area changed drastically, and while other countries lagged across economic and sociopolitical sectors, Israel established itself as one of the leaders of the geopolitically tense region.

Israel crushed Egypt and Syria in the six-day war of 1967, making further territorial gains and establishing itself as an eminent military power in the region. As the influence of Arab countries waned over the years and the U.S. made inroads in the region through either diplomatic efforts or invasions, Israel remained its steadfast ally through it all, cementing the relationship between the two countries.