Huge chasm: A comparison between US aid to Gaza and Israel

By Emre Basaran

ISTANBUL (AA) - Since the conflict in Gaza flared up on Oct. 7, 2023 and the subsequent Israeli aggression, the blockaded Strip has been suffering from a lack of proper humanitarian aid.

While Israel is being accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, humanitarian watchdogs like Human Rights Watch (HRW) have increasingly raised alarm that the embattled Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is using starvation as a form of oppression against Palestinian civilians.

While Israel denies those accusations as expected, the US has also been steadfast in its support to the country even amid allegations of ethnic cleansing.

In an effort to respond to widespread criticism of bias in its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Pentagon announced on March 8 that it would undertake an emergency mission to establish a pier in Gaza to deliver up to 2 million meals per day.

Meanwhile, the US Central Command has also announced that 1005 metric tons of humanitarian aid has been delivered in total as of May 24 through the temporary pier to Gaza since it became operational last week. On Tuesday, the pier was damaged due to adverse weather conditions.

The US has used every means possible to convey aid to the other side of the conflict, Israel, since the clashes were reignited due to a surprise cross-border incursion by Hamas.

Anadolu compiled data with regards to the amount of US aid to both Gaza and Israel since March 8, proving there is a big chasm in between the aid received by Israel and Gaza.

- Israel biggest recipient of US aid while Palestine neglected

Israel is by far the biggest recipient of US aid, according to data from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Congressional Research Service.

The data shows that a whopping $297 billion in US taxpayer money was donated by US to Israel between 1946 and 2023 as economic and military aid. The closest recipient, Egypt, ranked second in the list with a total of $167 billion.

Since the Pentagon’s announcement that an emergency mission would be undertaken to relay aid to Gaza, the US has provisionally agreed to provide Israel with nearly $4 billion per year through 2028.

This aid primarily supports Israel’s military, and also includes funding for similar purposes, Times of Israel reported in a piece.

According to the piece, US approved a sum of $5.2 billion in aid for the replenishment and expansion of Israel’s missile and rocket defense systems while another $3.5 billion were allocated for the purchase of advanced weapons systems.

Another $1 billion were granted to enhance Israel’s weapons production while $4.4 billion were set aside for other defense supplies and services provided to Israel.

Lastly, approximately $2.4 billion were allocated to support US operations in the region amid the ongoing Gaza war.

A bill passed by the US House of Representatives on April 20 marked arguably one of the crucial indicators of the US attitude towards Israel and Gaza.

The bill, which foresees $17 billion in defense aid to Israel, allocates roughly $2 billion to Gaza.

Netanyahu also hailed the US’ move in a post on X.

“The US Congress just overwhelmingly passed a much appreciated aid bill that demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Israel and defends Western civilization. Thank you friends, thank you America!” the Israeli prime minister said.

On the other hand, data from US Congress’ Congressional Research Service (CRS) shows that the US has given more than $5 billion in bilateral aid to the Palestinians since 1994. Prior to that date, the US aid to Palestine was predominantly channeled through United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). CRS data shows that since 1950, US aid through UNRWA has totaled more than $6 billion, bringing the total to $11 billion and indicating that US has helped Israel 27 times more than they aided Palestine monetarily.