U.S. warns Israel it could cut arms shipments unless more aid allowed into Gaza

Geoff Bennett:

The push and pull of the U.S.-Israel relationship was on full display today, as the U.S. warned Israel it could cut off arm shipments unless Israel allows more aid into Gaza.

And at the same time, Israel and the U.S. appear to be in sync on how Israel will strike Iran in response to its recent ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Nick Schifrin is here with reporting on all of this.

So, Nick, let's start with Gaza. What did the Biden administration warn today?

Nick Schifrin:

Geoff, U.S. officials are increasingly worried about humanitarian conditions in Gaza since Israel launched a relatively new operation the last two weeks.

The U.N. says some 400,000 Gazans have been trapped by intense airstrikes and ground operations. Only dozens of trucks have entered since October 1, and the U.S. says aid delivery overall has fallen 50 percent from its peak.

So, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to their counterparts with a long list of demands, including enable 350 trucks per day into Gaza. The number right now is a fraction of that.

Enact humanitarian pauses for the next four months, allowed the displaced who are currently sheltering on the beach in a designated humanitarian zone to move inland before the winter, and to publicly reaffirm there is no policy of forced evacuations from Northern Gaza.

U.S. officials say that this is not a threat, but they point out that U.S. law requires the administration to — quote — "prevent weapons sales" if the U.S. formally declares that Israel is arbitrarily blocking U.S. aid into Gaza.

Here's Secretary — here's the State Department spokesman today, Matt Miller.

Matthew Miller, State Department Spokesman:

We know that it's possible to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. We know it can be done. We know that the various logistical and bureaucratic obstacles can be surmounted, and so it is incumbent upon the government of Israel to surmount those challenges and get assistance in.

Nick Schifrin:

Back in April, USAID and a division of State, Geoff, argued that Israel was already arbitrarily blocking aid into Gaza. And back then, Blinken used a snapshot in time, rather than months of arguments, to argue that Israel was not arbitrarily blocking the aid.

This time, the U.S. has given Israel 30 days to comply, despite the fact that nothing in U.S. law obligates a warning, which means that the deadline is after the U.S. election.

Geoff Bennett:

On the other hand Israel and the U.S., as we said, seems more in sync with how Israel will respond to Iran's most recent attack. Tell us more about that.

Nick Schifrin:

Yes, an official familiar with the issue tells me that Israel and the U.S. have agreed on the nature of Israel's response to Iran's unprecedented October the 1st ballistic missile attack, some 180 Iranian ballistic missiles, you see them there, hitting Israel, mostly near military and intelligence sites in Israel.

Publicly, President Biden and privately U.S. officials have told Israel that they would oppose strikes on Iranian energy or nuclear sites. And, instead, they want Israel to essentially target parallel sites, military or intelligence sites in Iran.

The official familiar with this issue tells me that Israel's response will be — quote — "mainly military targets" — quote — "substantial," and while they won't preview the timing, this person says that it will happen before the U.S. election.

U.S. officials hope that the nature of Israel's strike will end this round, rather than inspire Iran to launch another round of ballistic strikes. And the U.S. has made that hope clear to Iran.

Geoff Bennett:

Have U.S. officials messaged Iran about the reported threats against Donald Trump?

Nick Schifrin:

They have, absolutely.

As we have reported here, U.S. intelligence briefed former President Trump and his campaign, in the campaign's words, of — quote — "real and specific threats from Iran" to assassinate him in response to the death of Qasem Soleimani that Trump ordered in Baghdad in early 2020.

And a U.S. official confirms to me — quote — "At the president's direction, we have sent messages to the highest levels of the Iranian government, strongly warning them to cease all plotting against Donald Trump and former U.S. officials." And the U.S., Geoff, would consider an attempt on Trump's life an act of war.

Biden has already told the Secret Service to provide former President Trump every level of protection they can. The Trump campaign recently asked for more. They asked for military aircraft including. And, for its part, Geoff, Iran denies any plotting against former President Trump.

Geoff Bennett:

OK. Nick Schifrin, thank you for all that reporting. We appreciate it.

Nick Schifrin:

Thank you.