Is US warning to Israel genuine or a campaign push for Harris?

As a consequence, the failure of Israel to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza within the next 30 days could result in Washington curbing future weapons supplies to Israel.

'Complete siege'

Israel's policy of imposing tight restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza stems from the Israeli government's initial response to the October 7 attacks, when Gallant announced that Israel intended to implement a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip. No fuel or food would be allowed in, he said. "Everything is closed... We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly."

The Biden administration had made several attempts to persuade the Israelis to adopt a more measured approach to aid deliveries, even though humanitarian agencies insist the amount of aid being delivered to the enclave remains wholly inadequate. Concern has grown in Washington in recent months that, despite Israel's promise to ease the flow of aid, restrictions have tightened, prompting Blinken and Austin to write their joint letter.

The Biden administration's mounting frustration with the Israelis stems from the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently undermined Washington's efforts to implement a ceasefire in Gaza.

There are also concerns in the White House that, following the launch of Israel's military offensive in Lebanon against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants, Israel may be deliberately trying to draw the US into a direct confrontation with Iran.

Scant regard

Another issue that irks the Biden administration is that Israel appears to have paid scant regard to a memorandum issued by President Joe Biden earlier this year, which required allies that receive military aid from the US to provide  "credible and reliable written assurances" of their adherence to international law including international human rights law.

Responding to the letter, an Israeli official in Washington told The Times of Israel, which originally broke the story about the letter,  that Jerusalem was reviewing the issues raised by the Biden administration. "Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts," the official said.

But with just three weeks to go before the US presidential election, many critics see the latest attempt by the Biden administration to persuade the Israelis to comply with its demands as too little, too late.

Although the joint Blinken/Austin letter was sent before the election, its 13 November deadline means no action will be taken before the contest's result is known.

Campaign tactic

There have also been complaints that the White House's belated effort to persuade Israel to ease aid restrictions in Gaza is little more than a blatant attempt to help Vice-President Kamala Harris's faltering campaign, with the Democrats struggling to respond to calls from pro-Palestinian activists in the US to take a harder line against Netanyahu's government.

Certainly, while the letter has had the desired effect of prompting Israel to ease restrictions on Gaza, with the first aid supplies in two weeks reported to have entered the enclave, there are no indications that Israel has any intention of scaling down its military activities in Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel's defiant attitude towards the Biden administration is evident from the intensification of the Israeli army's operations in southern Lebanon, where a senior Hezbollah battalion commander was reported to have been "eliminated" by an Israeli attack this week.

Israeli military officials claimed that Hussein Muhammad Awada had been overseeing rocket attacks on Israel from multiple locations within the Bint Jbeil district. A wave of Israeli air strikes has also resulted in the deaths of 45 Hezbollah militants, while 50 Palestinians were reported killed during the latest wave of Israeli strikes in Gaza.

And, with Netanyahu insisting Israel intends to carry out its retaliatory attack against Iran before November's presidential poll, all the indications are that Biden's belated attempt to persuade Israel to show some restraint has little chance of success.