The Biden administration has no plans to change its policy toward Israel after the ally's forces killed seven aid workers.
President Joe Biden was privately outraged by the deadly strike and in a public statement rebuked Israel for it, calling for "accountability" for those responsible and demanding that more humanitarian aid be allowed into Gaza. But two senior administration officials said that's as far as he and the White House will go for now.
"This is all we have planned," said one of the officials, who, like others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the administration's planning or internal reactions.
It is the latest example of the United States criticizing Israel's conduct in the war against Hamas, while remaining reluctant to use its leverage to force a change. Biden has sided with Israel as it aims for the military defeat of Hamas, resisting calls from progressive and pro-Palestinian voices to freeze military aid or impose other restrictions. Such moves would break, rather than bend, the relationship with Israel, the government argues. And they will end any influence the US has with Israel regarding the protection of civilians.
White House reiterates Biden's 'outrage' over World Central Kitchen worker deaths
This has caused cracks in the Biden administration. “Just rinse and repeat with the Israelis. The US political system can't or won't draw a real line with them and that's unfortunate," said a senior US official.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed Wednesday that the US plans no imminent change in its approach to Israel. “We still support their right to defend themselves and will continue to do so. We'll also see what the outcome of the investigation is," he told reporters in an interview prompted by POLITICO, adding that "I'm not going to preempt decisions that haven't been made yet."
Senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, apologized for Monday night's bombing of the World Central Kitchen convoy. His three vehicles were clearly marked with WCK insignia and were traveling along a protected route in central Gaza. And yet, Israeli forces continue to hit the aid workers multiple times, even though they have been informed of the convoy's movements. The group has temporarily stopped food deliveries following the strike.
In his statement Tuesday night, Biden was stern. "Israel has not done enough to protect the workers trying to bring aid to civilians who desperately need it." He added: "Incidents like yesterday simply shouldn't happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians."
A second senior administration official expanded on Biden's message: "The blow to humanitarian aid — at a time when Israel had recently agreed to do more to bring aid to northern Gaza — is deeply problematic."
A preliminary Israeli investigation into the attack indicated that the forces mistakenly identified the convoy as enemy targets. "I want to be very clear: the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK humanitarians," Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of the Israeli army's general staff, said in a video message on Tuesday. “It was a mistake that followed a misrecognition at night during a war in very complicated conditions. It shouldn't have happened."
Kirby told reporters on Tuesday that there was "no evidence" that Israel intended to deliberately kill the aid workers.
Biden was "furious" when told of the botched attack, the senior administration official said, adding that Tuesday's statement "reflected his surprise at this." The official said Biden insisted Israel release the results of its investigation into the incident. The president also privately mocked Israel for "not listening" to American directives and warnings, a third senior administration official said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmv7ti4suYo
CBS News
Matt Berg and Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.
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