Over a year has passed, and the Israel-Hamas war is still raging on. While the U.S. has been on Israel’s side during the duration of this violence, they’re giving them an ultimatum in order to boost Gaza humanitarian aid.
On October 13th, a letter by the Defense Secretary and the Secretary of State was signed and sent to senior Israeli officials, blaming them for their role in drastic humanitarian aid drops and widespread suffering in Palestinian territory. In the last month, Israel has denied nearly 90% of humanitarian aid between the north and south, with the U.S. having many concerns on Gaza civilians. There have been missile attacks on these civilians, with videos surfacing of them being burned alive in medical tents. While war is extremely terrible no matter who’s fighting for what, I feel that we can all agree that civilians shouldn’t be harmed in the process; that goes for both Gaza and Israel, however in this moment it appears that Palestinians have had no access to essential resources, including shelter as the Israeli army has surrounded the area.
Since the start of this war on October 7th, 2023, America has continually pressed for better humanitarian conditions, in particular in Gaza, however for the most part the Biden administration hasn’t posed much restrictions on the billions of military aid since Hamas attacked Israel. The exception to putting restrictions was the Rafah Offensive where Israel put an onslaught on the city of Rafah, using airstrikes and seizing the crossing. This wasn’t as violent as it would’ve been due to the Biden Administration declaring the attack crossing a red line, and suspending 500 and 2000 lb. bombs to dissuade this assault.
One has to ask if this ultimatum has anything to do with the political agenda of the democrats; While Biden stated that this didn’t have anything to do with the upcoming presidential election on November 5th, I feel that there are some underlying truths here. Trump promised to get the war to end quickly, while Harris stated that she supports Israel but also proposes that Palestinians would get sovereignty and security. By U.S. threatening to cut down on military assistance, this creates a win-win for the Biden Administration and the democrats; either Palestinian civilians have better quality of life or America cuts down on the amount of military aid, saving a pretty penny in expenses.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafah_offensive
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wk0e8zey2o
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/11/world/middleeast/trump-harris-israel-gaza.html
4 comments:
I think politics plays an oversized role in declaring this ultimatum. As is implied, the Biden Administration wants to stop this war from continuing. However, given the circumstances, and the fact that Iran has also "jumped in" to this conflict, there seems to be no clear end in sight that all parties would be content with, and thus the war continues. By placing this ultimatum, like you mentioned, the Biden Administration wants to dissuade and basically regulate war in a sense -- they don't want Israel to flat out destroy Palestine and Iran, but they are still also supporting Israel in Israel's quest to become the de-facto leader of the area. We'll see if regulation like this works.
It should be noted that this ultimatum, in my stance, is more of a political move than a final final ultimatum -- sure it's really harsh and it promises to suspend operations if certain requirements are met, but negotiations still will (probably) happen -- the US won't leave Israel out to dry if Israel misses their mark on the ultimatum. Thus, overall, we'll see how this plays out. Perhaps Israel will comply and bend to American power (but maybe not for long), or perhaps they will buck our authority in the name of dominance. It's way too hard to tell
The U.S. ultimatum to Israel reflects a complicated balancing act between supporting a key ally and addressing mounting humanitarian concerns. While the Biden administration is trying to push for better conditions for Gaza civilians, this could also be seen as a politically motivated move with the upcoming election. As others have noted, this ultimatum might be more of a diplomatic signal than a final demand, especially given the long-standing U.S.-Israel relationship. I think the U.S. isn’t likely to completely withdraw support even if Israel doesn’t meet all the conditions, but this threat to cut military aid shows the growing tension between maintaining security partnerships and addressing the moral and humanitarian consequences of prolonged conflict. It is uncertain if whether this will actually lead to meaningful change in or just serve as political posturing ahead of the election
I find that no matter what the response is to the situation in Gaza, some sort of political backlash will occur. There is a conflict centered around what the United States should do. As mentioned, Trump wants to end the war and focus on stopping what is happening. The Biden administration appears to almost want to get better control of the situation or iimprove conditions. One side wants to end the war which may mean more violence, while the other seeks to resolve or improve the conflict even at the cost of more time. Such a conflict is truly determined by those in power. It truly does feel that there is a political reason behind the actions and that the United States may want to establish itself as a stabilizing force. The situation could become very interesting based on who wins the upcoming presidential election.
I agree with Aiden in that no matter what is done about the Gaza war, some sort of political backlash and repercussions are going to take place. However, thats exactly what the Founders of the Constitution intended when they argued that forcing people to compromise would be the best thing for a country. No matter what Biden does to try to alleviate this situation, - and he definitely is - there are going to be some people on one side of the political spectrum that condemns him for doing too much or too little.
I also think that this letter condemning Israel's actions in Gaza serves both US, humanitarian, and Bidens interests. Of course, all the violence in Gaza is horrible and shouldn't be taking place, and I feel that both sides could make this war a lot less bloody. However, I also think that Biden stepping away and trying to distance himself from the Gaza war - just like Harris is trying to separate herself from the Biden presidency - serves his and his vice president's interests. By doing so, he is able to set up a situation that the incoming president will be able to take advantage of, whether it be Trump or Harris. While I don't know what Trump intends to do by 'ending the war on his first day in office', stepping back will give him more options. Similarly, if Harris were to win the presidency, this will give her the opportunity to step up to what she promised and protect the Palestinians - likely by giving humanitarian aid - while also attempting to eliminate the Hamas terrorist organization.
Either way, stepping back from the conflict will give the incoming president the scaffold they need to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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