Leaked US documents revealed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s involvement in the starvation campaign against Gaza.
A 17-page memo from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) documents several instances of Israel blocking aid from reaching the besieged Gaza Strip, which was subsequently sent to Secretary Blinken.
According to a report published by the investigative journalism website ProPublica, USAID provided Secretary Blinken with a detailed assessment of Israel’s actions.
This assessment included evidence of Israeli interference in relief efforts, such as the killing of relief workers, destruction of agricultural buildings, and the bombing of ambulances and hospitals.
ProPublica obtained a memo issued by USAID in April, which recommended halting the delivery of weapons to Israel due to its obstruction of relief efforts. The memo cited various evidence provided by officials to support these findings.
Reports also indicate that food supplies sufficient to feed 1.5 million Palestinians for five months were stored in an Israeli port. However, Israel blocked the shipment of flour, citing concerns that the aid might fall into the hands of Hamas.
Blinken dismissed the report, telling Congress a month later that the United States had not found evidence that Israel was blocking US aid shipments to Gaza.
However, USAID was not the only U.S. government agency to conclude that Israel was deliberately preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. Other agencies, including the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, also suggested that Israel was restricting aid, calling for the invocation of the Foreign Assistance Act.
This law prohibits military support to any country that blocks humanitarian aid, and Israel— the largest recipient of US military aid—has come under scrutiny following attacks that have resulted in the deaths of more than 41,000 Palestinians.
Stacey Gilbert, a former civilian and military adviser to the refugee office, resigned in protest of Blinken’s report to Congress, stating publicly that there was “ample evidence that Israel is responsible for obstructing aid.”
Despite calls from US lawmakers, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, to halt arms sales to Israel, the Biden administration has approved $20 billion in weapons sales.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has warned of an impending famine in the Gaza Strip and the potential spread of polio due to worsening health conditions.
The UN also noted that Israel is preventing the entry of essential materials needed to purify drinking water into the region.
Following the report, activists have called for the dismissal of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. This came after ProPublica published leaked documents on Tuesday, revealing Blinken’s role in intentionally blocking food aid to the Gaza Strip, endorsing starvation as a weapon of war, and misleading Congress.
Presidential candidate Jill Stein stated, “Antony Blinken lied to Congress, knowing that Israel was deliberately starving Gaza, yet continued to arm genocide. We call on Blinken to resign and urge the Biden administration to stop illegally arming Israel.”
Researcher Asal Rad highlighted a previous tweet from Blinken, in which he said, “Russia’s refusal to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative harms millions of hungry people around the world. Using food as a weapon is unconscionable, and we urge Russia to reverse course.”
Rad continued in another tweet, “This is at least the second report where Blinken has covered for Israel in Congress and violated U.S. laws by sending weapons to Israel despite evidence of gross human rights violations.”
Writer Ali Abunimah added, “You should call for this blood-stained monster to be put on trial.”
Writer Owen Jones opined, “Israel is deliberately starving Gaza of food and medicine, with the knowledge and cover-up of the American leadership. All Israeli and American leaders involved deserve to be in prison.”
Other prominent Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren, urged President Joe Biden in an April letter to stop providing offensive weapons to Israel, arguing that it violates U.S. military aid and assistance laws from the 1960s.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) issued a memo following a warning from agency head Samantha Power about an impending famine in Gaza. The memo stated that Israel is employing “arbitrary blocking, restrictions, and obstructions” to prevent U.S. government aid from entering the region. USAID is an independent U.S. government agency responsible for development and humanitarian work.
USAID receives its foreign policy guidance from the State Department. Months ago, The New York Times published an article in which the author accused President Joe Biden of being a “stumbling block” in the fight against famine in Gaza.
The article claimed that Biden’s belief in Israel’s allegations and his obstruction of the work of major relief organizations in the Gaza Strip have increased the suffering and misery of those who are hungry.
In his weekly column for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof stated that President Biden has appeared weak in his handling of the Gaza war for more than eight months. While he expressed concern over the human losses, Kristof noted that Biden “did not act decisively to reduce them.”
However, Biden was unusually decisive in one instance: when Israel alleged that some UNRWA employees were involved in terrorism, he immediately halted funding, which Congress then froze, according to the article.
Kristof added that the facts underlying the accusations against UNRWA were “misleading,” as they seemed intended to hold the international agency accountable while implying that the United States was compounding the suffering and misery of the hungry.
He pointed out that far-right Israeli politicians were pressuring to abolish UNRWA, which provides schools, clinics, and other essential services to Palestinians.
The columnist mentioned in his article that he spent a day in the West Bank with a UNRWA team, primarily in the Jalazone refugee camp, and it was evident that the agency was delivering vital health and education services despite being under siege.
He pointed out that Israel has always been hostile to UNRWA, but its accusations intensified after the attack launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7.
He added that the overwhelming majority of UNRWA employees are Palestinians and that the agency has made efforts to adhere to the principles of neutrality in a highly polarized region.
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