At the U.S. State Department daily press briefing on Monday, Department spokesperson Matthew Miller addressed concerns over Israel’s second military operation at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, saying: “We generally don’t want to see Israel operating inside hospitals in Gaza. We want hospitals to be protected sites.”
At the same time, Miller acknowledged the complexities inherent in conducting the war, saying: “It would be great if Hamas stopped hiding behind civilians and stopped hiding inside civilian infrastructures including hospitals.” Miller also stressed that “Israel needs to have a sustainable, long term strategy when it comes to Gaza. It’s not enough to just clear certain neighborhoods or hospitals, or any other geographic areas or buildings of Hamas.”
Fox News star Mark Levin, the pro-Trump host of the weekend show Life, Liberty & Levin, responded to a news summary of the State Department press briefing by writing, “Desist these arrogant candy a** punks lecturing Israel on what it should do.”
Desist these arrogant candy ass punks lecturing Israel on what it should do.https://t.co/67iIep2TKC
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) April 1, 2024
Other political pundits including journalist Jo-Ann Mort, who writes about Israeli-Palestinian relations, say the U.S. should apply pressure to Israel even more firmly. Mort wrote, as others have, that as Israel’s staunchest and most important ally, “Biden can — and should — press Israel to plan for what comes after this war.”
Some of the U.S. State Department’s ability to “lecture” — as Levin says — and exert influence over Israel’s choices derives from the longstanding U.S. role as Israel’s top financial supporter. According to the Council of Foreign Affairs, Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding, receiving about $300 billion in total economic and military assistance.
The CFA concludes it is therefore “incumbent on the U.S. government to monitor the end use of the equipment it provides.” Especially as, CFA reports: “The United States has provisionally agreed (via a Memorandum of Understanding) to provide Israel with nearly $4 billion a year through 2028, and U.S. lawmakers are considering billions of dollars in supplementary funding for Israel amid its war with Hamas.”
Note: Prior to the 10/7 Hamas attack, in June 2023, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk wrote: “The US-Israel relationship would be a lot healthier without this dependence. Time for Israel at 75 to stand on its own two feet.”