Hours before seven humanitarian workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen were killed by an Israeli bombing in Gaza, the United States approved the sending of thousands of bombs to the Jewish state. The next day, Joe Biden appeared in public "outraged and heartbroken" by the news and denounced that Israel "has not done enough to protect civilians" in its military offensive. One of the seven murdered was an American national, the same origin as the Hermes 450 drone, which allegedly fired three rockets at the humanitarian convoy of the organization of Spanish chef José Andrés.
This Thursday, Biden spoke directly by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time since the attack and asked for a ceasefire in Gaza, which he considers "essential" to "protect innocent civilians." In a meeting lasting just over half an hour, the president told him that the bombings of humanitarian workers "are unacceptable" and demanded that he announce "specific, concrete and measurable measures to address harm to civilians, suffering and security." of workers," according to a statement from the White House.
The president "has made clear that US policy toward Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action regarding these measures," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, suggesting for the first time a condition on military assistance: "We want to see real changes on the Israeli side and, if we do not see these changes, we will have to change, but I am not going to foresee decisions that we have not taken yet."
As confirmed by The Washington Post and CNN, the State Department approved on Monday the transfer to Israel of more than 1,000 MK82 bombs weighing about 250 kilos, more than 1,000 small diameter bombs and fuzes for MK80 type bombs. This military assistance is in addition to the one approved a week before, of 1,800 one-ton MK84 bombs, 500 MK82 bombs and 25 F-35 fighters, and to the annual aid of 3.8 billion dollars, which has been increasing throughout this century.
Both shipments are part of the aid authorized in 2008 by Congress, so they did not have to go through the legislature again nor did they require public explanations. But they contrast with the tone of the Biden administration, which has recently raised its criticism of Netanyahu's war cabinet for its indiscriminate bombings and blocking of humanitarian aid. Although the executive has the authority to suspend a military aid package at any time prior to its delivery, he is not using it nor is he expected to do so "until 2025," an official told the Post.
Biden lamented Tuesday that the World Central Kitchen worker deaths 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 who have died." The members of the NGO "were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war," the president said, calling them "brave and selfless."
The same day, Secretary of Defense 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, south of Gaza, and ensuring the protection of civilians and the provision of humanitarian aid, according to the Pentagon. After the call, Austin said that it is a "moral and strategic imperative" to protect Palestinian civilians, but he rejected conditioning future military aid to Israel, something that the progressive sector of the Democratic Party in Congress has been asking for for months.
Biden did suggest this condition this Thursday in his short conversation with Netanyahu, in which he reiterated that "an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians." The call came just a week after the Security Council approved, thanks to the US abstention, a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan.
This episode further increases the pressure on Biden, who during the primaries has suffered significant protest votes for his support for Israel, led by groups of Arab, young and progressive citizens. The latest example, this Tuesday, when she received 8% of blank votes in the key state of Wisconsin, which joins Minnesota (18%), Michigan (13.2%) or North Carolina (12%), among others. According to The New York Times, the president would also have received pressure from the first lady, Jill Biden, who privately asked him to end this war – "stop it now, do it now," the newspaper quotes him as saying. president during a meeting with members of the Muslim community at the White House.
Chef José Andrés – born in Mieres (Asturias), living in Washington (District of Columbia) and naturalized American – said after the Hamas attacks on October 7 that Israel was "defending its citizens" with its bombings in Gaza, although He called for "the restraint of all parties." This Wednesday, he assured in an interview that his workers have been "systematically" attacked by the Israel Defense Forces and asked the American government - 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 "involuntary" 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 that the elections – scheduled for 2026 – be moved forward to this September, on the eve of the first year of war. These early elections "will allow us to continue the military effort while signaling to the citizens of Israel that we will soon renew their trust in us."
