The U.S.-Israeli relationship has had a rocky week as Tel Aviv continues its war against Hamas in Gaza and is preparing for a possible war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video on social media alleging that the United States had been withholding military aid from Israel. The U.S. had publicly announced it was holding up one aid package last month, but it’s unclear what exactly prompted Netanyahu to issue the rebuke to Israel’s most important ally this week.
U.S. officials quickly shot down Netanyahu’s claims, and on Thursday, National Security Council coordinator John Kirby had choice words for the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu’s video “was perplexing to say the least, certainly disappointing especially given that no other country is doing more to help Israel defend itself against the threat by Hamas, and quite frankly, other threats that they’re facing in the region than the United States,” Kirby said.
“I think we’ve made it abundantly clear to our Israeli counterparts through various vehicles our deep disappointment in the statements expressed in that video and our concerns over the accuracy in the statements made,” he added.
Netanyahu’s office issued a response to Kirby’s remarks on X, saying the prime minister is “willing to absorb personal attacks if that is what it takes for Israel to get the arms and ammunition it needs in its war for survival.”
The U.S. has provided Israel with billions of dollars of military aid since Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack that prompted the current unrest in the Middle East. The Department of Defense quickly deployed resources to the Middle East to deter Israeli adversaries from acting following the attack that left roughly 1,200 people dead and about 250 taken hostage.
U.S. officials maintain they don’t want to see a wider war and believe the situation between Israel and Hezbollah can still be worked out diplomatically.
Netanyahu and Biden have repeatedly butted heads over the course of the war, oftentimes when one of them would be playing to their domestic base, but the U.S. has remained supportive of Israel’s war objectives.
This current back-and-forth comes as Israel and Hezbollah have escalated their rhetoric about a potential all-out conflict. Hezbollah began firing rockets and missiles over Israel’s border into the northern part of the country, forcing Israel to evacuate tens of thousands of civilians who live in that area. That part of the country remains abandoned.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned on Wednesday that a full-scale conflict with Israel would be “without rules or ceilings” and that “no place” would be safe in such a conflict.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
A day earlier, Hezbollah released a nine-minute-long video of drone footage from an unmanned aerial vehicle that purportedly flew over Israel — including areas not near the Lebanese border — highlighting the terrorist group’s capabilities and potential Israeli vulnerabilities.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in response to the video, “We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit.”