The Biden administration is set to release its review of Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in the recent war in Gaza. The much-anticipated report, which was compelled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress, is expected to be sharply critical of Israel. However, it does not conclude that Israel has violated the terms for their use, according to three people who have been briefed on the matter.
The report comes after seven months of airstrikes, ground fighting, and aid restrictions that have resulted in the deaths of nearly 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The Biden administration has been under increasing pressure to take a stand on the conflict, with growing criticism at home and abroad over the high Palestinian death toll and the onset of famine in the region.
President Biden has been walking a fine line in his support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Hamas. On one hand, he faces demands from many Democrats to cut the flow of offensive weapons to Israel, while on the other hand, he is being denounced by Republicans for wavering on support for Israel at its time of need.
According to two U.S. officials and a third person briefed on the findings of the national security memorandum, the report is expected to be released later today. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not yet public. The findings of the report were first reported by Axios.
The Biden administration took its first step towards 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 upon in February, obligated the Defense and State departments to conduct an assessment of any credible reports or allegations that U.S.-provided weapons and services have been used in a manner not consistent with international law, including international humanitarian law. The agreement also required them to inform Congress if they deemed that Israel has acted arbitrarily to deny, restrict, or otherwise impede the delivery of U.S.-supported humanitarian aid into Gaza for starving civilians.
Lawmakers and others who advocated for the review have accused the Biden administration of following a double standard when enforcing U.S. laws governing how foreign militaries use U.S. support. They have urged the administration to make a straightforward legal determination of whether there was credible evidence that specific Israeli airstrikes and restrictions on aid shipments into Gaza violated international laws and human rights.
On the other hand, their opponents argued that a U.S. finding against Israel would weaken the country at a time when it is battling Hamas and other Iran-backed groups. Any critical findings on Israel are sure to add to pressure on Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military, further heightening tensions with Netanyahu’s government and potentially endangering Biden’s support in the upcoming presidential elections.
The review was initiated after an October 7 terror attack by Hamas into Israel that killed about 1,200 people. Since then, two-thirds of the Palestinians killed have been women and children, according to local health officials. U.S. and U.N. officials have also expressed concern over Israeli restrictions on food shipments, which have led to a full-fledged famine in northern Gaza.
Human rights groups have long accused Israeli security forces of committing abuses against Palestinians and have criticized Israeli leaders for failing to hold those responsible accountable. In January, the top U.N. court ordered Israel to do all it could to prevent death, destruction, and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive.
Israel has maintained that it is following all U.S. and international laws, and that it investigates allegations of abuse by its security forces. The country also argues that its campaign in Gaza is proportional to the existential threat posed by Hamas.
President Biden has previously expressed concern over the high civilian death toll in Gaza, stating that “indiscriminate bombing” was costing Israel international backing. In April, the Biden administration for the first time signaled that it might cut military aid to Israel if it didn’t change its handling of the war and humanitarian aid.
The last time a U.S. president openly held back weapons or military financing to try to push Israel to change its actions was in the 1980s and early 1990s, under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
In conclusion, the upcoming report on Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in the Gaza war
