Washington is weighing using weapons sales as leverage to pressure Israel to change its operations and policies in the Gaza Strip, according to a Sunday report by US television network NBC.
Although no decisions have been made yet, according to the report, the Biden White House asked the Defense Department to review the delivery of which munitions and weapons systems could be slowed as leverage on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, pointing at 155 mm artillery shells and JDAM kits to turn missiles into precision munitions.
The report cited three current US officials and a former official.
The White House did not issue an outright denial in its response to the report on Sunday, saying only that there is no change in its Israel policy.
“Israel has a right and obligation to defend themselves against the threat of Hamas, while abiding by international humanitarian law and protecting civilian lives, and we remain committed to support Israel in its fight against Hamas,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said. “We have done so since October 7, and will continue to. There has not been a change in our policy.”
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the report.
NBC said defensive systems and munitions, like Iron Dome interceptors, are not under consideration for having their delivery slowed down.
“The administration is focused on offensive military equipment in its review of what it could possibly withhold or delay,” the report stated. It noted, however, that officials “have also discussed offering the Israeli government more of the weapons it has requested” — to encourage Israel “to take some steps the administration has requested.”
One of Washington’s goals is to convince Israel to open humanitarian corridors to allow more aid to reach Gazans. The US has also reportedly urged Israel to do more to reduce civilian casualties in the Strip.
“There’s a lot more that needs to be done and that they need to be more careful about,” said an administration official.
In December, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken fast-tracked the sale of munitions to Israel, bypassing congressional review, including 155 mm artillery shells and related equipment worth $147.5 million.
Earlier the same month, Blinken used the same emergency authority to fast-track the sale of $106 million in roughly 14,000 tank shells to Israel on December 9.
The White House has been pressing Israel on the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in Gaza, its vision for the “day after” Hamas and the growing number of civilian casualties in the Strip.
The Netanyahu government has made some concessions on humanitarian issues, including allowing large shipments of flour to enter Gaza through the Ashdod port earlier this month.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is of increasing urgency for Biden, as he faces protests from progressives upset about his administration’s support for Israel in its offensive against the Hamas terror group in Gaza and the rising civilian death toll.
Biden faces an election in November, and is lagging behind likely GOP challenger Donald Trump in most polls. Biden and his aides have said they do not want to see any civilians die in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and Biden helped broker a temporary ceasefire that saw critical aid reach the territory and the release of some hostages held by the terrorists.
Last week, Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir conducted a working visit to Washington, during which he met with senior Pentagon and State Department officials, as well as executives from major US defense companies to discuss the advancement of the defense deals.
Defense sources told The Times of Israel that Israel’s plans to procure a new squadron of 25 F35i stealth fighter jets, a squadron of 25 F-15IA fighter jets — the Israeli variant of the advanced F-15EX — and a squadron of 12 Apache helicopters were advanced during the discussions.
The Defense Ministry delegation also worked to advance the continued supply of American munitions amid the war.
War erupted in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 massacres, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel from the Strip by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians slaughtered amid brutal atrocities, and seizing over 250 hostages, over 130 of whom are still held captive in Gaza.
Vowing to destroy the terror group, Israel launched a wide-scale military campaign that the Gaza health ministry says has killed over 26,000 people. The UN estimates that some 1.9 million Gazans are currently displaced due to the war, with many being forced to find shelter in tent cities or makeshift camps and slums sprouting up in parts of the Strip.
The figures issued by the Hamas-run health ministry cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires. The IDF says it has killed over 9,000 terror operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israeli protesters, including the families of hostages, have been blocking aid shipments into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Biden administration officials were pressing Israel to ensure the crossing remains open, the Kan public broadcaster reported Thursday.
According to the report, the US officials called for the crossing to continue operating as usual and said Israel must ensure aid continues flowing into Gaza, without specifically referring to the protests.
On Sunday, the IDF declared the area around the crossing a closed military zone, aimed at preventing such demonstrations moving forward, but many protesters bypassed the blockades regardless and blocked at least some of the aid from entering.