Behind the U.S. Letter – and Ultimatum – To Israel

1 year ago 185

It’s an unprecedented set of demands and deadlines from Washington. Will it make a difference in Gaza?

Palestinians carry boxes of humanitarian aid from trucks transporting international aid from the US-built Trident Pier near Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on May 18, 2024. (Photo AFP via Getty Images)

Posted: October 16th, 2024

By Elaine Shannon

Elaine Shannon, contributing editor at The Cipher Brief, is a former correspondent for Time and Newsweek. Her latest book is Hunting LeRoux (Harper Collins, 2019).

DEEP DIVE — It’s one of those “private” documents that was almost certainly written for public consumption. A spokesman for Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that the stern letter from Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli leaders, dated Sunday and quickly leaked to Israel’s Channel 12, was “not about making any kind of threats.”

“It’s about seeing the situation reversed,” State spokesman Matthew Miller said, “so that the civilians in Gaza who are not getting adequate access to food and medicine and other humanitarian goods today actually see as a result of our efforts a change in their daily lives.”

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