Joe Biden's push to contain ally Benjamin Netanyahu marks a new chapter in the letter that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent to Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. In which, in essence, they state that Israel has one month to significantly improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza . Otherwise, it risks no longer receiving weapons from the United States .

The tone of the letter , of which the Times of Israel is publishing the original, is naturally diplomatic and formal but the meaning is that of an ultimatum : the US maintains its unwavering support, Israel must honor its commitments.

Blinken and Austin's demands focus on three points in particular : increasing the supply of humanitarian aid to the Strip by the beginning of winter, facilitating delivery through Jordan , and ending the isolation of the northern part of the enclave .

Meanwhile, an advanced team of US soldiers and components for the operation of the Thaad (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) air defense battery have arrived in Israel . More soldiers and ammunition will arrive in the coming days, the Pentagon said. The system includes launchers, interceptors, radio and radar equipment and requires 95 soldiers to operate . Thaad is considered complementary to the Patriot, but can defend a wider area by hitting targets at distances of 150-200 kilometers. This is important support for the IDF's air defenses, which after a year of war has a reduction in its arsenal and a "critical shortage" of interceptor missiles, according to the Financial Times, but also internal military sources.

Biden's decision to send a defense system with about a hundred US soldiers to operate it, according to the interpretation provided by some American experts, would aim to ease tensions , holding back both Jerusalem and Tehran from wider attacks and risky military steps.

For his part, Netanyahu has shown that he does not appreciate the continuous leaks of recent days . In particular, those leaked overseas on Israel's real intentions in choosing targets to attack in Iran. Thus, in the middle of the night between Monday and Tuesday, the prime minister kicked officials from his office out of bed to respond to the recently printed edition of the Washington Post. "We listen to the thoughts of the American government, but we will make our final decisions based on Israel's national security needs," the official note reads, rejecting the WP headline according to which Bibi told Biden that the IDF will not attack Iranian oil or nuclear sites.

The date of the retaliation , the Post revealed, will be before the US elections on November 5 .

(Unioneonline/vl)

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