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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin have told Israel that weapons shipments could be affected unless it addresses the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in Gaza within 30 days.
The secretaries wrote to Israeli officials on Sunday to tell them that military assistance could be at risk due to the legal implications of giving such aid when international humanitarian law is being breached.
“We are writing now to underscore the US government's deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and seek urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory,” they wrote in a letter, first reported by Axios and Israel's N12 news channel.
US officials confirmed that Mr Austin and Mr Blinken had cosigned a letter to their Israeli counterparts.
“Secretary Blinken sent a similar letter in April, which received a constructive response and concrete measures from the Israelis. This letter follows a recent decrease in assistance reaching Gaza, which we aim to similarly address with concrete measures," a US defence official said.
Mr Blinken and Mr Austin cited Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act National Security Memorandum 20, which requires that parties receiving military assistance conduct themselves within international humanitarian law.
“To reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory and consistent with its assurances to us, Israel must, starting now and within 30 days, act on the following concrete measures,” they wrote before listing bullet points of improvements the US would need to see in Gaza.
Mr Blinken and Mr Austin said Israel would need to “surge all forms of humanitarian assistance” and “ensure that the commercial and Jordan Armed Forces corridors are functioning at full and continuous capacity”.
They also said Israel must “end isolation of northern Gaza”.
Israel has cut off the northern strip from the rest of Gaza with a siege blocking food, water, medication and aid since October 1, and ordering forced mass displacement of the people remaining there.
Three hospitals in the north are struggling to continue operations, the World Health Organisation reported. Palestinians have shared experiences of coming under violence when trying to flee, and health officials have reported dozens killed.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reported that humanitarian aid entering Gaza has “fallen by over 50 per cent from where it was at its peak” and said the US would like to see changes before 30 days.
“This particular letter that we're talking about now follows a decrease in humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, which is obviously something we've been very, very concerned about since the beginning of the conflict,” White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said.
More than 43,300 people have been killed in the enclave during Israel's military operations, the Gaza Health Ministry said, after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year. More than 2 million people have been internally displaced.
The letter was addressed to Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. The Israeli Ministry of Defence declined to immediately comment on it.
The threat by President Joe Biden's administration is a rare move against its ally Israel, which it has stood by throughout its war amid a rising civilian death toll and risks of a wider Middle East conflict. It is estimated that the US has sent a record $17.9 billion of military aid to Israel, despite much global and domestic criticism.
Mr Kirby said that the letter was “not meant as a threat”, but was to “reiterate the sense of urgency we feel” about the necessity of humanitarian assistance.
The US has paused one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs over concerns of weapons used in densely populated civilian areas in May.
Mr Biden's administration in May issued a review that said it was “reasonable” Israel was violating international law, but deemed that “provision of defence articles” could continue as normal. Critics at the time condemned the report as “untruthful”.
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN on Monday evening that “the leverage we have given [Israel Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has been used in a way that is most destructive”.
Jewish-American Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who is on the House foreign affairs committee, on Monday responded to images of Palestinians burning alive after an Israeli strike in Gaza by saying Mr Netanyahu “clearly doesn't care about [US] concerns”.
“The only time he's ever changed behaviour is when we've exerted our leverage. It's time to do that now,” Ms Jacobs said.
Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli brigadier general, told The National that a halt in US weapons supplies would lead Israel to produce more of its own defence supplies.
“The long-term effect of this is that in Israel there is a growing understanding that we have to rely more on ourselves, and produce our own weapons … and this is happening. Israel is building factories at the moment,” Mr Avivi said.
On Tuesday, Israel tested new anti-drone technology at a field in the country's south, according to the ministry.
Mr Avivi said Israel would see Washington as an “unreliable ally” if it halted weapons supplies: “I don't think it would be a smart move by the US and it's sending a bad message to their allies.”
The US last week told the UN Security Council that Israel must address “catastrophic conditions” that Palestinian civilians are experiencing in the besieged Gaza Strip, in another rare moment of American pressure on Israel to stop “intensifying suffering”.
Thomas Watkins, Jihan Abdalla, Ellie Sennett in Washington, and Lizzie Porter in Jerusalem contributed reporting
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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