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Biden Admin Threatens Israel with Arms Embargo Over Gaza Aid

Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid make their way to the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, May 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
JNS.org – The Biden administration has stepped up pressure on Jerusalem to meet a host of demands focused on vastly expanding the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
On Oct. 13, Axios reported that Washington had sent a letter to Israel containing an ultimatum: Improve the humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave within 30 days or risk a hold-up in the supply of U.S. weapons.
On Oct. 15, the White House confirmed the contents of the letter.
John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, told reporters at a briefing that the letter was prompted by a “recent decrease in humanitarian assistance reaching the people of Gaza.
“I can confirm that Secretary [of Defense Lloyd] Austin and Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken co-signed the letter you’re talking about, and it was sent to their Israeli counterparts,” said Kirby. “I would note that the Biden-Harris administration made a similar request for concrete measures with respect to humanitarian assistance back in April with a similar letter, and that letter did receive a constructive response from the Israelis.”
According to Axios, the letter spelled out 15 policy changes required to avoid an embargo.
“Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy under NSM-20 [National Security Memorandum-20] and relevant US law,” it went on to say.
A US official told Axios that if Jerusalem fails to meet the demands by Nov. 13, military assistance could be suspended, a step the Biden administration has not taken but which is gathering more support at the State Department.
The article also notes that it could be the first major decision taken by the Biden administration following this Tuesday’s presidential election.
It comes against the backdrop of a major Israeli operation to prevent Hamas terrorists from regrouping in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, with the United States concerned that not enough humanitarian aid is being delivered to that area during the operation.
Blinken and Austin reportedly raised demands for more aid in recent conversations with Israeli officials.
“Both of us and our teams are tracking very carefully Israel’s responsibilities to meet the letter of the law … with regard to the provision of humanitarian assistance,” Blinken said at a press conference with Austin on Oct. 31.
They stressed that Israel had made progress, but that more needs to be done.
“It’s not enough to get trucks to Gaza. It’s vital that what they bring with them can get distributed effectively inside of Gaza,” said Blinken.
Two Israeli officials and two US officials told Axios that State Department officials had “difficult” meetings and phone calls in recent days with their Israeli counterparts.
Concerns were also reportedly raised about Jerusalem banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
The Knesset on Oct. 28 made it illegal for UNRWA to operate in Israeli territory, and for state officials to cooperate with the agency.
The two laws were passed by large majorities following the exposure of UNRWA staff complicity in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, and despite pressure from the United States and other countries against the move.
Blinken spoke on Friday with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer about “de-escalating” the situation in the Middle East, including measures to increase humanitarian aid efforts in the Gaza Strip.
“The secretary emphasized the importance of ending the war in Gaza and bringing all of the hostages home, as well as charting a path forward in the post-conflict period that provides governance, security, and reconstruction,” according to a State Department readout.
Blinken, moreover, “discussed the dire status of humanitarian conditions in Gaza, reviewed steps that have been taken to improve the situation, and urged further actions to surge aid to civilians.”
In the Friday discussion between Blinken and Dermer, the former reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxy groups.”
The officials spoke about a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that would permit Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return safely to their homes in the south and north of their respective nations.
Dermer is tasked with drafting the Israeli response to the Blinken-Austin letter, according to Axios, which is expected to be finalized and sent after the U.S. election.
While US officials said that Israel has taken steps to implement some of the American demands, they suggested that others will be hard to meet, including the entry of 350 aid trucks into Gaza each day by Nov. 13. Also, several of the U.S. demands need to be approved by the Israeli Cabinet, which is not expected to happen until after the U.S. elections.
Samantha Power, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, pressed for more humanitarian aid to Gaza in a meeting on Friday with Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog, according to her spokesperson.
“The administrator acknowledged the steps the government of Israel has already taken and how we can continue to accelerate efforts to facilitate the flow and delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Administrator Power raised serious concern on the humanitarian conditions in northern Gaza,” the statement from Benjamin Suarato read.
The post Biden Admin Threatens Israel with Arms Embargo Over Gaza Aid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.