(Washington, DC – October 15, 2024): On October 13, 2024, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israel warning that "failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining [humanitarian measures] may have implications for U.S. policy under NSM-20 and relevant U.S. law." The letter demands "urgent and sustained actions by your government this month" to reverse the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. It calls for several specific steps, including "rescinding evacuation orders when there is no operational need" and facilitating a minimum of 350 trucks per day of aid into Gaza through all major crossings. DAWN issues the following statement in response to the letter:
"However long overdue, this official warning that Israel must stop blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza or face a suspension of U.S. military aid is an important and unprecedented signal that Israel has crossed even the Biden administration's permissive red lines," said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director. "We now need the Biden administration to show action, not just words, in enforcing U.S. laws, which prohibit aid to Israel given not only its relentless obstruction of humanitarian relief but deliberate starvation and incessant bombardment of Gaza's civilians."
"The language in this letter acknowledges the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from northern Gaza but stops short of naming it," said Raed Jarrar, DAWN's advocacy director. "In the letter, the Secretaries write that evacuation orders have 'forced 1.7 million people into a narrow coastal zone,' resulting in extreme overcrowding and high risks of lethal contagion. While the letter demands Israel rescind evacuation orders, it is time for the U.S. to enforce these demands immediately rather than issuing vague deadlines. The U.S. must move beyond warnings and act decisively to end its complicity in these atrocities."
