Responding to Biden Administration, Israel Opens New Route for Aid Into Gaza

A private letter to the Israeli government from the Biden administration became public last month, revealing that Washington was threatening to cut off military assistance within 30 days unless Israel took a series of measures to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. With only four days left before the clock runs out, Israel announced on November 8 the opening of a new border crossing near Kissufim, a kibbutz where Hamas murdered 12 Israelis and six foreign workers during the October 7 massacre.

Opening a fifth crossing into Gaza was one of the 15 conditions that the Biden administration specified in its letter. The Israeli announcement said the reopening was possible as a result of work by military engineering units that “built inspection facilities and protective infrastructure, and paved roads both in Israeli territory and within the Gaza Strip.” Israel also announced the arrival of 2,000 pallets of aid at its port of Ashdod, a development responsive to the American request for expedited clearance of aid through the port, which lies 20 miles north of Gaza.

In Change of Tune, State Department Recognizes Israeli Progress

On November 4, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Israel had “failed to implement all of the things that we recommended in that letter.” Miller added, “the situation has not been good enough for some time, and the situation has not improved sufficiently in the 21, 22 days, whatever it is since we sent that letter.”

Three days later, Miller assessed the situation very differently. He noted the impending opening of the crossing at Kissufim as well as the re-opening of the route through Erez. Miller added that Israel had approved additional delivery routes within Gaza as well as allowing convoys into previously closed areas in the northern part of the strip, where heavy fighting against Hamas holdouts took place in October. In addition, Israeli forces took new measures to stop looting and increase the number of trucks making deliveries, including more than 200 in a single day this past week.

Some U.S. Demands are Unrealistic

In the letter threatening a suspension of military aid, the first specific demand was “enabling 350 trucks per day to enter Gaza.” Yet even during the surge of aid into Gaza this past March, in response to concerns about a potential famine, the average number of trucks per day was 225. There have only been a handful of days this year when the number reached 300, according to publicly available Israeli data.

The U.S. letter does not identify the basis for specifying the target of 350 trucks. Five hundred trucks per day typically entered Gaza before the October 7 massacre, but that figure included trucks delivering commercial goods for the private sector. Of the 500 trucks per day, about 150 typically delivered food.

No Grounds for Suspending Military Assistance

The Israeli government has demonstrated its responsiveness to the demands in the Biden administration’s letter. It has not met all 15 conditions the letter specified, but not all were achievable, especially within 30 days. For its part, the administration should recognize the long-term success of Israeli efforts to facilitate humanitarian shipments. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC — the authoritative, UN-backed famine monitor — only six percent of Gaza residents now face “catastrophic” food shortages, down from 30 percent in March, a four-fifths reduction. There are no grounds for suspending military assistance.

David Adesnik is research director and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from David and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow David on X @adesnik. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.