Israel welcomed a U.S. aid package signed by President Biden on Wednesday that provides about $15 billion in military aid to Israel, increasing American support for its closest Middle East ally despite tensions in their relations over the continuation of the war in Gaza increased by Israel.
“Our alliance is ironclad,” Israel Katz, the country’s foreign minister, said in a statement thanking Mr. Biden for signing the law. It was part of a long-held $95.3 billion aid package that had drawn strong opposition from some Republicans because of its support for Ukraine, which is also part of the legislation, as is Taiwan.
Aid to Israel includes more than $5 billion to replenish three of the country’s defense systems: Iron Dome, which intercepts missiles flying in wide arcs; David’s Slingshot, which shoots drones, rockets and rockets; and Iron Beam, designed to destroy incoming projectiles with laser beams.
It also includes $1 billion to improve the production and development of artillery and ammunition and $2.4 billion for American military operations in the U.S. Central Command region, which includes the Middle East and parts of South Asia and East Africa .
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Mr Biden said he was approving “vital support for Israel”, less than two weeks after Iran attacked the country with more than 300 missiles and drones, almost all of which were shot down. Mr. Biden also noted that Israel has fought Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both of which are backed by Iran.
“Israel’s security is critically important,” Mr. Biden said. “I will always ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and the terrorists it supports.”
The aid bill was signed as Israel continued to make plans to invade the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are seeking refuge. The Biden administration has said it will oppose such an invasion without a viable plan to protect civilians from harm.
The bill also includes $1 billion in additional humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, including food, medical supplies and clean water, Mr. Biden said. “Israel must ensure that all this aid reaches the Palestinians in Gaza without delay,” he said.
There is already severe famine in the Gaza Strip and the World Food Program, a United Nations agency, warned on Wednesday that famine could begin there in six weeks without a significant increase in food supplies.
“We are getting closer to famine every day,” Gian Carlo Cirri, director of the Geneva office of the World Food Program, told reporters. “Child malnutrition is spreading.”
About 30 percent of children under two in Gaza are severely malnourished, Mr. Cirri said. In northern Gaza, 70 percent of the population is suffering from catastrophic hunger, meaning they have exhausted almost all means of coping and are eating animal feed or selling belongings to buy food, he said.
“Most of them are destitute and obviously some of them are starving,” he said.
The extreme heat is compounding suffering in Gaza, where many civilians sweated in makeshift tents under the scorching sun as temperatures reached 39 degrees Celsius, or 102 degrees Fahrenheit, on Wednesday.
“The tent feels like it’s on fire,” said Maryam Arafat, 23, who was sheltering in Deir al Balah in central Gaza with her husband and three young children. They had fled their home in Gaza City, which was bombed by Israel in the winter. “It’s so hot you can’t stand it, especially with small children,” she said.
Ms. Arafat said she fanned her children with a piece of cardboard and moistened their heads and limbs with what little water she had. The hot weather coupled with a lack of clean water has increased concerns about the spread of water-borne diseases in Gaza.
Despite the humanitarian crisis, aid is being prevented from going to UNRWA, the main UN agency providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza. The United States suspended donations to the agency this year because of Israel’s allegations that a dozen agency employees took part in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 or after. The United Nations is conducting an internal review of the allegations.
But an independent review commissioned by the United Nations reported this week that Israel had provided no evidence to support its accusation that many UNRWA staff were members of Hamas and other terror groups.
The commission recommended that UNRWA protect its neutrality by conducting additional screening and training of its staff and working more closely with host countries and Israel to share rosters of its staff.
Oren Marmorstein, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, condemned the review after its publication, calling it “an attempt to avoid the problem.”
But Germany, one of Israel’s close allies, said on Wednesday it would resume funding to UNRWA, some three months after it suspended payments. The announcement is likely to further strain longstanding relations with Israel, which have deteriorated due to differences over the war in Gaza.
Germany donated more than $200 million to UNRWA in 2023 and is the second largest donor after the United States. Several other countries, including Australia, Canada and Sweden, have also resumed funding for UNRWA.
The United States is by far the largest arms supplier to Israel, and although the Biden administration has faced increasing calls to limit or halt arms supplies, it has largely maintained its military support.
The package signed by Mr Biden does not contain any conditions on military aid to Israel. That has been a sticking point for some Liberal Democrats who have been more vocal in their criticism of the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza, where more than 34,000 people have been killed, according to the territory’s health authorities.
Asked Wednesday whether the Biden administration would cut off U.S. aid to an Israeli military unit accused of human rights abuses, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the decision on the matter would be up to the State Department and that the White House will not intervene.
The State Department is considering action against Israel’s Netzah Yehuda military battalion under a U.S. law that prohibits sending American equipment, funds and training to foreign military units found to have committed serious human rights violations. The unit was under investigation in Israel for crimes in the West Bank before the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on October 7.
Reporting was contributed by Catie Edmondson, Robert Jimison, Raja Abdulrahim, Ameera Harouda and Shashank Bengali.
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2024-04-24 23:18:15
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