$6.5 Billion US War Aid Discussed During Gallant's Productive Visit

The United States has provided $6.5 billion in security assistance to Israel since the war against Hamas began on October 7, including nearly $3 billion approved in May. The never-before-seen figures were part of discussions this week with a visiting delegation led by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, amid Israeli allegations that the Biden administration has been slow to provide aid.

This is a massive, massive undertaking, said a senior administration official, who disclosed the numbers as an indication of the depth and complexity of U.S. support for Israel.

To counter the Israeli accusation that the Americans created bottlenecks in the flow of weapons, remarks repeated publicly last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and described as confusing and inaccurate by the White House. Gallant during his four-day visit, the official said.

Although planned before Netanyahu's comments, Gallant's trip was in part an effort to ease increasingly tense relations and show a different Israeli attitude toward U.S. aid.

The defense minister, who has had his own clashes with Netanyahu, told reporters at a press briefing Tuesday that our ties with the United States are the second most important element of Israel's security, after the Israeli army. We need American diplomatic and political support, power projection, munitions provision and much more.

Highlighting significant progress, Gallant said obstacles have been removed and bottlenecks resolved in order to advance various issues, most notably the subject of force buildup and ammunition supply.

The senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the visit on condition of anonymity in accordance with rules established by the White House, appeared to step back from the administration's previous outright rejection of Netanyahu's accusations.

In terms of bottlenecks, this is a complex bureaucratic system that we have for good reason, ensuring that we fully meet all of our obligations to Congress, laws, procedures and regulations. But, the official acknowledged, there are problems on the Israeli side, in terms of things they might want, which perhaps weren't entirely clear.

The visit was very constructive and productive, the official said, thanking Gallant for his professional approach.

The Times of Israel called the White House's praise and Gallants' assertions of significant progress on outstanding issues a rebuke of Netanyahu. The Biden administration was angered by Netanyahu's acceptance of an invitation, first put forward by Republican lawmakers, to speak at a joint session of Congress in late July.

Amid the steady flow of weapons, the administration continues to hold back a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs out of fear, according to President Biden, that they would be used in densely populated urban areas.

Administration officials and Gallant declined to discuss details of their discussions. I believe allies must do everything they can to resolve issues behind closed doors, Gallant said. That's what I'm trying to do.

During his visit, Gallant met with all of Biden's top national security officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

They reviewed the unprecedented support provided to Israel since the October 7 Hamas attacks, including the direct defense of Israel by the U.S. military and a coalition of partners against an Iranian attack in April, as well as preparations for any future eventuality, including diplomatic ones. efforts to avoid war with Lebanon and the United States' commitment to defend Israel if those efforts fail, the official said.

At each meeting, the officials said, they also discussed the impasse in efforts to reach a U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire deal and the return of Israeli hostages. Although announced by Biden nearly a month ago as an Israeli initiative, Netanyahu has publicly questioned aspects of the proposal. Gallant said the State of Israel and the defense establishment were all engaged and strongly supportive of the president's deal. Hamas demanded amendments, including a firm commitment from Israel to a permanent cessation of the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Gallant also discussed the Israeli military's upcoming shift to what he called Phase 3 of its war against Hamas, a transition to low-intensity conflict to eliminate remaining pockets of militants in Gaza and allow for an alternative government that is neither Israel nor Hamas.

The governing body in which selected local Palestinians would be appointed to govern the territory while Israel continues to provide security remains vague. It is a long and complex process that depends on many factors, Gallant said, including the international community, which must participate and not just criticize.

The Israeli proposal falls far short of the Biden administration's plan, which envisions a future Gaza government led by the existing Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and an eventual transition to separate Palestinian and Israeli states.

Other topics of discussion with senior U.S. officials include Iran's increased production of weapons-grade nuclear fuel and what has become an increasingly serious dispute between Israel and the United Nations over the distribution of nuclear fuel. humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israel has slammed false international assessments of near-starvation conditions inside the enclave and has long blamed the United Nations for incompetence in distributing aid to civilians, many of whom have been left homeless adequate, without food, water and medical care.

This problem has become even more acute in southern Gaza since Israel last month launched a military offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city where more than a million people have fled for safety. of an Israeli offensive further north. Although aid-laden trucks enter Gaza through a passage from southern Israel, the United Nations and other distributors say they cannot deliver food aid inside the enclave .

Although there are persistent obstacles due to continued fighting, destroyed roads and fuel shortages, much of the current slowdown has been blamed by U.N. and U.S. officials on lawlessness. committed by desperate civilians and criminal gangs who attacked and looted distribution vehicles.

The World Food Program and U.N. drivers are obviously worried about being attacked, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday. Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces and COGAT, the Israeli agency that deals with the occupied territories, who accompanied Gallant to Washington, met with U.S. aid officials here this week to try to find a solution, including included what U.S. officials described as providing protection. communications equipment and technology that Israel has not allowed into Gaza.

But in Israel, a government spokesperson on Wednesday blamed the problem entirely on the United Nations. We will not accept any lessons from the supporters of the enemies of the Jews, whether in the 1940s, in the 1970s or in 2024, government spokesman David Mencer said at a press briefing. Unfortunately, it is UNRWA and others, and the World Food Program is another, who are simply spending their time perpetuating this conflict rather than stepping aside and doing the job they were designed to do, a- he said, referring to the two main UN aid agencies in Gaza.

For years, the United States has provided $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel each year. In April, Congress approved Biden's request for an additional $26 billion for wartime aid, humanitarian assistance and to support U.S. operations in the region.

But the administration has so far been reluctant to quantify the total amount of security aid it has provided to Israel since the start of the war, telling reporters only that Washington was providing its closest ally of the Middle East the equipment necessary to defend themselves.

In the early weeks of the conflict, emergency shipments to Israel were flown aboard U.S. military aircraft. In a few cases late last year, the administration also invoked emergency authorities to bypass Congress to approve the sale of arms and munitions to Israel, a move that drew objections from some Democratic lawmakers in the face of rapidly rising civilian deaths. in Gaza as Israel intensified its bombing campaign and ground operations.

In May, the administration took the rare step of suspending the shipment of 2,000- and 500-pound bombs to Israel, reflecting its concern over the high number of civilian deaths. The pause sparked outrage from pro-Israel Democratic donors, including billionaire Haim Saban, and Republicans such as Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who called it a de facto arms embargo against Israel .

At the time, the administration assured members of Congress that huge amounts of military aid were still flowing to Israel, but declined to publicly disclose a total figure. In an internal memo between House Democratic leaders and rank-and-file members of Congress obtained by The Washington Post, Democratic leaders said Biden’s halt to heavy bombings represented less than 1 percent of the total military support the United States has provided to Israel since the beginning of the conflict, an early indication of the scale of the security assistance.

Administration officials said the withheld delivery of the big bombs was still under review.

John Hudson contributed to this report.

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