The move also casts new light on the emotional statement by President Biden that he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the tragedy and was insistent that such events never happen again.
“They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war,” Biden said. “They were brave and selfless.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli government confirmed it carried out Monday’s strike but called it “unintentional,” saying the military would conduct a “transparent” investigation and make the results public.
The State Department approved the transfer of more than 1,000 MK82 500-pound bombs, over 1,000 small-diameter bombs, and fuses for MK80 bombs, all from authorizations granted by Congress several years before the latest hostilities between Israel and Hamas began, said the U.S. officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive arms deals.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed the approval and said it occurred sometime “prior” to when the Israeli aircraft struck the aid convoy.
The U.S. government has the authority to suspend an arms package any time before delivery, which the spokesperson said probably would not occur until 2025 or later. It has not done so in this case.
When asked why the Biden administration did not at least pause the process after the incident or until the Israelis’ investigation was completed, the spokesperson did not provide further comment.
Officials have not publicly disclosed what type of munition struck the aid truck, but the small-diameter bombs the United States has provided to Israel are “certainly comparable,” said Josh Paul, a former State Department arms expert who resigned in protest of the administration’s Gaza policy.
Biden, in his statement following the attack, offered his most pointed criticism to date of Israel’s treatment of humanitarian workers, who have died in greater numbers than in any other recent conflict.
“Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen,” Biden said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the slain workers, who included individuals from Australia, Britain, the Palestinian territories, Poland and a U.S.-Canadian dual national, were “heroes.”
“They have to be protected. We shouldn’t have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk,” he said.
Some Democratic supporters of the Biden administration criticized such statements, saying they result in little change when U.S. actions convey unconditional support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
“Until there are substantive consequences, this outrage does nothing,” Ben Rhodes, a former foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama, said on X.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “obviously doesn’t care what the U.S. says, it’s about what the U.S. does,” he said.
Republicans in Congress have been broadly supportive of weapons transfers to Israel and have defended its tactics and methods in the six-month conflict. Former president Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee in this year’s election, has said Hamas’s killing rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7 was “one of the saddest things I’ve ever…
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