More than three dozen House Democrats are calling on the Biden administration to “reconsider” a recent U.S. arms package to Israel and any future ones until a “full investigation” into an Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza last week is complete.
In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers urged the administration to conduct its own investigation into last week’s airstrike to determine why the aid convoy was hit, despite the group traveling in marked cars and coordinating movements with Israel.
“We strongly urge your administration to conduct a thorough investigation into this airstrike to determine how the aid convoy could have been mistakenly targeted, despite coordinating their movements with the Israeli military and traveling in clearly marked vehicles,” the letter says.
The U.S., the lawmakers argued, should withhold any future transfers if the investigation finds the strike broke international law or if Israel does not do enough to protect civilians and increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
“In light of the recent strike against aid workers and the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustifiable to approve these weapons transfers,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote. “We again strongly urge you to withhold any offensive weapons transfers until the investigation into the airstrike is concluded and, if it is found, this strike violated U.S. or international law, those responsible are held accountable.”
Forty House Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, signed on to the letter, which was led by Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., James McGovern, D-Mass., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.
It comes after seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen — a humanitarian aid organization founded by Chef Jose Andrés that frequently parachutes into areas facing crisis-levels of food insecurity, including war zones like Gaza, areas recovering from national disasters and parts of the U.S. during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020 — were killed last week in an Israeli air strike, as they returned from an aid mission.
The killing of the seven workers kicked off a wave of anger, including from the White House, with Biden on Tuesday saying he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the killings of the workers, calling their deaths "a tragedy."
The Israeli military said Friday it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in the strikes, saying they mishandled critical information and violated the army's rules of engagement.
In response, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said that the U.S. is “very carefully” reviewing the findings of Israel’s investigation. White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby added the U.S. would “reserve judgment” as to whether there needs to be an additional investigation beyond the one conducted by Israel until the U.S. finishes reviewing the findings.
On a call with reporters on Monday, Kirby said the U.S. was “still working our way through” the report.
Biden has faced mounting frustrations from some at home over his continued support of Israel as the civilian death toll in Gaza has risen and the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has worsened.
“Even if the Israeli government has conducted an inquiry into the specific events of April 1, Israeli policy is still causing immense harm by preventing an adequate humanitarian response and threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people,” Rep. Barabara Lee’s office said in a statement to Spectrum News. Lee was one of the House Democrats who signed onto the letter. “U.S. law prohibits the transfer of arms to countries that block or disrupt humanitarian response.”
In a phone call last week that appeared to mark a shift in tone from the White House, Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must take concrete steps to reduce civilian harm and improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, warning U.S. policy going forward would depend on whether Israelis follow through.
“He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the White House said on Thursday. “He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
Soon after the call, Israel announced steps to expand the flow of assistance into Gaza, which the Biden administration said was welcome but may not be enough.
Kirby on Monday told reporters that more than 300 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza on Sunday.
“That is more trucks than any single day since the war began and that is progress,” he said. “But obviously we need to see it sustained to really address the dire humanitarian situation there in Gaza.”
In the letter, the House Democrats go on to express concern at reports by multiple outlets that the Biden administration authorized an arms transfer of thousands of bombs and is considering authorizing a $18 billion arms transfer with F-15 aircraft,
“The MK-84 2000-pound bombs have been linked to multiple mass casualty events in Gaza and are capable of killing or wounding people more than 1,000 feet away,” the letter reads.
Spectrum News' David Mendez contributed to this report.