Hours before seven humanitarian workers from the World Central Kitchen were killed by an Israeli bombardment in Gaza, the United States approved the shipment of thousands of bombs to the Jewish State. The next day, Joe Biden was publicly “outraged and heartbroken” by the news and denounced that Israel “has not done enough to protect civilians”. One of the seven killed had the nationality of the United States, the same origin as the Hermes 450 drone, which allegedly fired three rockets at the humanitarian convoy of the organization of the Spanish chef José Andrés.
Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday for the first time since the attack, and asked him for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, which he considers “essential” to “protect innocent civilians” . In a meeting that lasted just over half an hour, the president told her that the bombing of humanitarian workers “is unacceptable” and demanded that she announce “specific, concrete and measurable measures to address civilian harm, suffering and security of workers”, according to the White House.
The president “has made it clear to him that US policy on Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate actions in relation to these measures,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. suggesting for the first time a conditioning of military assistance: “We want to see real changes from the Israeli side and, if we don’t see these changes, we will have to change, but I will not predict decisions that we have not yet taken.”
As The Washington Post and CNN confirmed yesterday, the State Department on Monday approved the shipment to Israel of more than 1,000 MK82 bombs weighing about 250 kilograms, more than 1,000 small diameter bombs and fuses for class bombs MK80. This military assistance is in addition to that approved a week earlier for 1,800 MK84 one-ton bombs, 500 MK82 bombs and 25 F-35 fighter jets, and the $3.8 billion in aid Israel receives each year from USA
Both shipments are part of aid authorized in 2008 by Congress, so they did not have to go through the Legislature again or require public explanations, but they contrast with the tone of the Biden Administration, which has recently raised criticism to Netanyahu’s war cabinet for the bombings and blocking of humanitarian aid. Although the executive has authority to suspend a military aid package at any time before delivering it, he is not using it and is not expected to do so “until 2025,” one official told the Post.
Biden lamented on Tuesday that the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers were not an “isolated incident” and said the conflict is “one of the worst in living memory in terms of the number of humanitarian workers killed.” The members of the oenagé “provided food to civilians who were hungry in the middle of a war”, he pointed out, and described them as “brave and selfless”. On the same day, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held another hour and a half telephone meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, with the aim of deterring the promised invasion of Rafah, in southern Gaza. After the call, Austin said it is a “moral and strategic imperative” to protect Palestinian civilians, but he declined to condition future military aid to Israel, something the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has been calling for in Congress for months.
Biden did suggest this conditioning in the short conversation with Netanyahu yesterday. The call came just a week after the Security Council approved, with the US abstaining, a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan.
During the primary process, Biden has suffered significant protest votes for support for Israel, led by groups of Arab citizens, young people and progressives. The latest example, on Tuesday, when he received 8% of the blank vote in the key state of Wisconsin, which is added to Minnesota (18%), Michigan (13.2%) or North Carolina (12%). ), among others. According to The New York Times, the president also received pressure from the first lady, Jill Biden, who privately asked him to end this war.
Chef José Andrés – born in Mieres (Asturias), settled in Washington (District of Columbia) and American citizen – said after the attacks by Hamas on October 7 that Israel was “defending its citizens” with the bombings in Gaza, despite the fact that he asked for “restraint from all parties”. On Wednesday he assured in an interview that his workers have been “systematically” attacked by the Israel Defense Forces and asked the Government of the United States – as well as that of Australia, Canada, Poland and the United Kingdom, nationalities of the murdered workers – to open an independent investigation.
The Israeli Government, which acknowledged the bombing, said it was “unintentional” and announced a “transparent” investigation with public results. Netanyahu has received condemnation from the international community and is subject to strong opposition in Israel. One of the members of his war cabinet, his political rival Benny Gantz, asked to bring forward the elections – scheduled for 2026 – in September, shortly before one year since the start of the war.
