Critics Blast Biden Administration Threat to cut off Israel's Military Aid Without Humanitarian Improvement in Gaza

JERUSALEM, Israel – Ahead of the biblical Sukkot holiday, as Israel fights an existential threat on multiple fronts, Israel's best ally, the U.S., is threatening to cut off military aid if the humanitarian situation in Gaza doesn't improve in a month. This comes as Israel fast-tracks solutions to defend against killer drones.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to top Israelis, warning them they have 30 days to seriously improve Gaza's humanitarian aid crisis or Israel could face a U.S. arms embargo.

The State Department suggests the letter is necessary.

Spokesman Matthew Miller declared, "What we have seen over the past few months is that the level of humanitarian assistance has not been sustained. In fact, it has fallen by over 50 percent from where it was at its peak."

Former U.S. Ambassador David Friedman was sharply critical of the administration's decision, calling it "repugnant."

"Israel is fighting a war on seven fronts against terrorist forces that show no respect for humanity, law or morality, and Biden/Harris/Blinken/Austin are threatening to hold off assistance to Israel unless Israel increases 'humanitarian aid' that invariably just extends the war and is hijacked by Hamas," Friedman wrote.

He continued, "As a cruel addendum, the U.S. is demanding that Israel cooperate more fully with the International Committee of the Red Cross when the ICRC has not once—NOT ONCE—visited the civilian hostages held in barbaric conditions by Hamas."

Appearing on CBN News' Faith Nation, Brad Bowman at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies insists that what the letter threatens could seriously damage Israel as it is fighting deadly enemies on seven fronts. 

Bowman stated, "It specifically cites the section of U.S. law that links the provision of humanitarian assistance to the provision of weapons. So the statute is there, and they're threatening to use it if some of their demands are not met. So this is very, very serious."

Bowman added a comparison. "This, I would say, is not unlike your best friend being surrounded by six or seven bullies on the playground, getting kicked. And then you come up, and instead of giving your friend a hand up, you join the kicking. This is not too far from that. So this is quite extraordinary."

According to Bowman, Israel may be tough, but it still needs American military aid. 

"Israel is the most formidable military in the Middle East. It's incredibly capable, and Israel has a robust defense industrial base and defense technical sector. But with all that said, Israel is heavily dependent on U.S. security assistance—namely weapons. And so the goal of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah is to use human shields and use humanitarian suffering as a tool of political warfare to try to deprive Israel of the means of self-defense for the ultimate purpose of exterminating the Jewish state."

Israel charges that Hamas is stealing much of the aid intended for civilians and selling it to continue supporting the terrorist army.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces have chosen their targets in Iran for retaliatory strikes after the Islamic regime launched 181 ballistic missiles at the Jewish nation at the beginning of October.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant characterized the coming response from Israel as “precise, painful, and surprising towards Iran."

Tehran threatens a much more severe counterstrike, and one general is openly saying the Islamic regime could kill all the Jews of Israel.

Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander-in-chief Ali Fadavi warned, "That land is a small land. It's not even as big as one of Iran's small provinces. If we will, we can obliterate all the Zionists."

One of the new tools of war Iran and its proxies have used to deadly effect against Israel are killer drones, also known as UAVs. This past Sunday, a drone killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded more than 60 other people.

Gallant was on hand for a demonstration by defense firms of new technology systems to shoot down the drones. Israel will choose some for fast-track and put them into action within a few months.