By Rabia Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - Veteran American journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, War, revealed that the Israeli government has been refusing to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip since last October in high-level engagements with US officials.
The book provides an inside look at the high-level engagements between Washington and Tel Aviv following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, highlighting Israeli refusal to allow aid, despite pressure from the Biden administration.
In one key exchange, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Oct. 12, 2023, having just returned from meetings with regional leaders during his first Middle East tour after the attack.
Blinken, following instructions from President Joe Biden, urged the Israeli government to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, where food, water and fuel were cut off after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a siege two days after the attack.
But Netanyahu and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer firmly rejected the plea.
"The people of Israel will not tolerate giving these Nazis aid if we have not completely destroyed Hamas," Netanyahu responded to Blinken, according to Woodward’s book.
After hours of negotiations, Netanyahu insisted: "No one in this country can accept the idea that we’re going to be providing assistance to Palestinians in Gaza," citing hostages held by Hamas and the attack that killed Israelis.
"We can’t have trucks going in," Netanyahu said. When asked by Blinken what he meant, Dermer joked, "Maybe a cart and donkey would do it."
“No, no, no, it’s this image of, you know, things going into the Palestinians... We can’t have that. What about if we send experts in?” said Netanyahu. Blinken responded with frustration, "You can't eat or drink an expert. People need the food and water.”
- Negotiations about Biden’s trip to Israel
With Biden scheduled to visit Israel on Oct. 18, 2023, his administration decided to use the trip as leverage to secure a commitment from Israel to allow humanitarian aid.
In tense discussions, Blinken told Netanyahu that Biden’s visit could be jeopardized if Israel did not agree to open Gaza to aid. “I cannot make that announcement if we don’t have an agreement in principle,” Blinken reportedly said.
In a direct telephone call with Biden, Blinken explained the situation: “I want to be able to say if they don’t agree to open this up, then you’re not going to be able to come,” he said. Biden agreed, giving Blinken the leverage he needed in negotiations.
Finally, after hours of back-and-forth, Netanyahu relented. He agreed to allow some aid into Gaza but wanted the announcement to come after Biden’s visit, to appear as though the US president had forced his hand.
When Biden landed in Israel on Oct. 18, Netanyahu met him at Ben Gurion Airport. During the visit, Biden publicly reaffirmed the US’ unwavering support for Israel, but in private pressed for humanitarian access to Gaza, according to the book.
Following Biden’s trip, 20 aid trucks began entering Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt. It was far below the 500 trucks per day that entered Gaza before the war.
Israel’s ongoing blockade since Oct. led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine and displaced almost the entire population of Gaza. More than 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing “extremely critical” levels of hunger, according to the UN.
Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas last October, which killed nearly 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.
More than 42,400 people have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 99,000 injured, according to Gaza health authorities.
- Israel’s blocking of aid entry into Gaza
While conversations cited in the book, reports, leaks, mounting evidence and comments by Israeli ministers show Israel’s intention to obstruct aid entry into Gaza since Oct. 7, Biden administration officials have never acknowledged it publicly.
In May 2024, a US State Department report acknowledged that while there may be instances where aid can be denied, restricted or impeded, it concluded that Israel was not arbitrarily blocking aid.
Shortly after the report's release, Stacy Gilbert, a senior official in the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, resigned in protest. She argued that the National Security Memorandum (NSM-20) report, submitted to Congress in early May, was "wrong" in concluding that Israel had not obstructed aid to Gaza.
Under the US Foreign Assistance Act, aid must be restricted if a country, like Israel, obstructs the entry of US humanitarian aid or violates international law unless national security exemptions apply. The US continues, however, to supply Israel with weapons.
Last week, a leaked letter to Israeli media, confirmed by US officials, revealed that the US has given Israel 30 days to enhance humanitarian aid access to Gaza or face potential cuts to military assistance.
- Blinken thinks aid shipment not as fast or as effective as it needs to be
According to the book, in a January 2024 meeting, Blinken again raised concerns about the slow pace of aid delivery, which Netanyahu dismissed, insisting that Israel had taken steps to allow assistance.
Blinken, however, found the measures insufficient, and the book highlights his frustration with Netanyahu’s grudging approach.
Israel had opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Israel and “reluctantly” agreed to allow shipments of flour sent from Türkiye, which had been sitting at the Ashdod Port in Tel Aviv, as well as a US shipment of flour, into Gaza. But Blinken believed those actions were insufficient, telling Netanyahu, "It’s not going as fast or as effectively as it needs to be."
- Blinken’s 11th Mideast trip
Blinken traveled to the Middle East this week on his 11th visit, once again urging Israeli officials to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. The trip came after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
According to a State Department's readout of Blinken's meeting with Netanyahu, Blinken stressed the importance of taking further steps to increase and maintain the flow of aid into Gaza and ensure that it reaches civilians.
The Israeli government’s readout of the same meeting, however, made no mention of humanitarian aid discussions, instead focusing on the future governance of Gaza once the conflict ends.