Newly revealed emails show senior military officials raised concerns to the White House within days of Israel launching operations in Gaza.
The email was obtained and examined by Reuters. A meeting between senior State Department and Pentagon officials from October 11 to 14 expressed concern and alarm over Israel's launch of missile attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The email specifically focused on the mass displacement of Palestinians as a potential legal issue. Dana Stroll, then the assistant secretary of defense for Middle East affairs, sent a letter to Biden's aides on October 13 warning that Israel could face war crimes charges for its actions.
The emails also include messages of sympathy for the Palestinian people and pressures to maintain solidarity with Israel while allowing more aid to Gaza.
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Israel's invasion of Gaza proved polarizing and painful for Democrats. Progressives and young voters are trying to hold the Biden administration accountable for its support for Israel as tens of thousands of Palestinians die.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroll speaks to reporters during a media roundtable in Kuwait City, October 19, 2022. (Yaser Al Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images)
The invasion also made it difficult, if not impossible, for aid groups to assist displaced people in the Gaza Strip who had fled their homes to avoid being drawn into Israeli operations.
Mr. Stroll said Israel had issued a statement after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) distributed leaflets in northern Gaza urging residents to flee their homes before troops entered the strip as part of an earlier “targeted invasion.” He openly claimed that he may be on the verge of committing a war crime. ”
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“Their main argument is that it is impossible to move 1 million civilians so quickly,” Stroll wrote. One official said such an operation was impossible without causing a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
Three senior U.S. officials have argued that the White House has been slow to respond to these issues, and Biden's team at one point warned that the U.S. was “leading the international effort to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.” , insisted that it remains a “top priority” going forward.
A person walks in front of a shelter tent erected near a collapsed building in the Brej camp for Palestinian refugees in central Gaza Strip, October 1, 2024, as the war continues between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. A man walking. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
Bill Russo, then assistant secretary of state in the Office of International Public Affairs, sought to denounce the long-term effects of the U.S.'s “lack of response to the humanitarian situation” in Gaza as “ineffective and counterproductive.” . At the same time, it will have a negative impact on relations with Arab countries.
“If we don't quickly reverse this direction, not just by message but by action, we risk undermining our position in the region for years to come,” Russo wrote in an email, according to Reuters. Ta. A colleague forwarded his email to White House officials, warning that Arab partners “who would otherwise become entrenched” might reconsider their relationship with the United States.
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Mr. Russo ultimately resigned in March 2024, citing personal reasons.
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors at the site of Israeli shelling in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Al-Shurafi, File)
Far-left voters have put the fate of Gaza front and center of their concerns ahead of the November election. Michigan voters launched an “irresponsible” protest vote during the Democratic primary as a way to vent their frustration with the Biden administration's handling of the crisis.
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The same voters called Harris “terrible” during her DNC speech in August, accusing her of “downplaying” America's complicity in the invasion of Gaza by providing money and weapons to Israel.
The White House, State Department, and Pentagon did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
