The United States’ Ultimatum for Israel is Unlikely to be Effective

Israeli airstrikes have caused severe destruction in Gaza (Wikimedia Commons)

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer expressing the United States’ concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on October 13, 2024. In their letter, the U.S. officials stated, “the amount of assistance entering Gaza in September was the lowest of any month during the past year,” and that Israel had “den[ied] or imped[ed] nearly 90 percent of humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza in September.” The U.S. officials demanded Israel allow more aid to reach Gaza within the next month under penalty of restrictions on U.S. assistance. 

Along with the ultimatum, the U.S. announced that it would send around 100 soldiers and an advanced U.S. anti-missile system to Israel. This military aid bolstered an Israeli retaliatory attack on Iran after Iranian missile strikes on October 1.

Section 620I of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act requires a suspension of military support to any countries that impede U.S. humanitarian relief unless the president notifies Congress that continuing to provide military aid is in the United States’ national security interest, a step Biden has not taken. Annie Shiel, U.S. advocacy director at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, stated the United States’ ultimatum for Israel was the Biden administration “doing bureaucratic gymnastics to avoid enforcing U.S. law and ending arms transfers to Israel.” 

This ultimatum provides a way for Israel to continue receiving military backing without fully ending its restriction of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy, a think tank in Washington, D.C., believes that after a month the United States will “thank Israel for easing some restrictions (which still won’t meet the legal requirement) and keep the ammunition flowing.” Unless the United States takes decisive action to ensure Israel stops obstructing humanitarian aid, it is unlikely the crisis in Gaza will improve in the near future.