The United States has quietly expanded its freeze on weapons and military hardware deliveries to the State of Israel.
According to a report by Ynet, the Biden Administration has imposed a partial embargo on delivery of military hardware that has already been bought and paid for by the State of Israel.
The ban includes 134 Caterpillar D-9 military bulldozers that are being held up in the factories due to a “delay” in the export permit that is supposed to be issued by the State Department.
The White House has also been withholding a shipment of 2,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs for months, along with half a 1,300-bomb shipment of the smaller, 500-pound bombs.
In addition, the US recently declined to expedite the delivery of attack helicopters, or redirect gunships intended for US forces to support the IDF.
Substantial military supplies have been delivered, such as armored personnel carriers, essential munitions and military gear — but there are reports that some high-ranking US defense officials oppose fully supplying Israel’s military laundry list.
Despite those actions, Israel still managed to eliminate Hezbollah secretary-general and chief terrorist, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut.
The latest unstated embargo comes in response to what the Biden Administration claims is a “violation of standards” in protecting local civilians and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned incoming Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz that Netanyahu government must demonstrate an increased supply of aid to Gaza.
That’s a bit hard to do, when more than 70 percent of the aid that does enter the enclave is openly stolen by the Hamas terrorist organization.
Moreover, there is no lack of aid in Gaza — in fact, Gazans are uploading footage to TikTok accounts, documenting locals throwing away some of the aid because there is too much for them to use.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which reports on food security and nutritional analyses, consistently predicts deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Gaza — and then reports improvement.
“This is because the researchers continue to rely on partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests,” Israel’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) wrote Saturday in a post on the X social media platform. COGAT serves as liaison to Gazans as well as Arabs in the Palestinian Authority.
“The IPC reports have been systematically based on organizations with vested interests and partial, inaccurate knowledge, significantly undermining the document’s credibility.
“Israel published detailed documents on the factual and methodological problems in the two previous reports. No response was ever given,” COGAT reported.
“According to the latest report, as of the beginning of Oct, the situation (including in the north) was the best since the beginning of the war.
“Aid enters northern Gaza directly through the Erez East and Erez West crossings, which were opened in May to provide dedicated support for northern Gaza. This enables direct aid delivery from Jordan based on coordination with the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Port of Ashdod, in addition to aid inspected for security at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
“The Erez crossings’ capacity alone exceeds 600 trucks per week, more trucks can be coordinated into Gaza, there are no limits on the amount of aid that can enter.
“Since the start of October (2024), over 600 trucks have entered northern Gaza alone. All while the IDF is conducting an intense military activity in northern Gaza against terrorist organizations operating there and embedded within the civilian population.”
To mitigate the impact of the combat on the limited civilian population that remains, a proactive call was made at the outset of the military activity for residents to evacuate southward, humanitarian teams’ movements have been coordinated, hundreds of patients and caregivers have been evacuated from hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, and hundreds of food, water, and medical supply packages have been delivered.
Over 50,000 liters of fuel and medical supplies have also been provided to medical facilities in northern Gaza to maintain essential services. Last week (Thursday), alongside ongoing intense activity in the Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun areas, Israel facilitated and eased the movement of a humanitarian convoy for the civilian population remaining in the combat zones.
Currently, 700 truckloads of aid is waiting for the UN for pickup and distribution on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, COGAT reported.
“Daily meetings are held with the UN aid agencies to increase the scope of aid and find solutions to expand accessible humanitarian support for the population, addressing the dynamic challenges posed by the operations.”
We’ve taken measures to assist the UN with enhancing logistical capabilities. For example, road repairs and expansions have been carried out to improve access to Kerem Shalom, along with extending hours for aid collection and distribution in cooperation with the UN through designated humanitarian pauses.
Dozens of empty trucks, forklifts, and other logistical equipment have been provided by Israel for use by international organizations. Efforts have also been made to open the Kissufim crossing to expand aid routes, in addition to those already in use.
Although the Biden Administration claims Israel is not doing enough to help the local Gazans — including many who are quietly cooperating with Hamas — administration officials appear loathe to specifically indicate what more they expect to be done.
Hundreds of trucks of aid are faithfully delivered to the enclave via the various crossings, and hundreds have been sitting for months on the Gaza side of the border, backed up due to inadequate retrieval by the aid organizations tasked with distribution.
But instead of blaming those whose are responsible for ensuring the aid gets to the locals, the White House consistently points the finger instead at the State of Israel, and uses the misplaced blame as the excuse for holding up badly needed military supplies.
