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Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, alongside U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and 37 of their colleagues sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking them to withhold pending offensive weapons transfers to Israel after seven humanitarian aid workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, were killed in an Israeli airstrike, and to place conditions on future weapons assistance.

“We write to express our shared concern and outrage regarding the recent Israeli airstrike which killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including an American citizen,” the Members wrote. “In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed. If this strike is found to have violated U.S. or international law, we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable. We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate – or arbitrarily denies or restricts – the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

“It is estimated that over 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of this war, nearly half of whom are children,” the Members continued. “While we appreciate your administration’s recent efforts to increase the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, these efforts will not be sufficient to meet the extraordinary need on the ground. The Israeli government’s restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza, coupled with the death and grave harm that aid workers have faced during this war, are compounding this hunger crisis. Recent reports indicate that hundreds of aid trucks sit idle outside the Rafah border crossing due to Israel’s restrictions. And now over 200 aid workers have been killed since the start of the war. These attacks and deaths are having a chilling effect with the World Central Kitchen and other humanitarian groups now suspending their operations in Gaza. Until now, World Central Kitchen has provided more than 43 million meals to Palestinians in Gaza, lending support to 68 community kitchens throughout the territory and serving more than 170,000 hot meals each day. Its services are irreplaceable, and its absence will fuel the growing hunger crisis in Gaza.”

“In light of the recent strike against aid workers and the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustifiable to approve these weapons transfers,” the Members concluded. “We again strongly urge you to withhold any offensive weapons transfers until the investigation into the airstrike is concluded and, if it is found this strike violated U.S. or international law, those responsible are held accountable. And we again urge you to ensure that any future military assistance to Israel, including already authorized transfers, is subject to conditions to ensure it is used in compliance with U.S. and international law.”

The full text of the letter is copied below and available online here.

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Dear President Biden and Secretary Blinken,

We write to express our shared concern and outrage regarding the recent Israeli airstrike which killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including an American citizen. In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed. If this strike is found to have violated U.S. or international law, we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable. We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate – or arbitrarily denies or restricts – the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

It is estimated that over 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of this war, nearly half of whom are children. The most recent report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative (IPC) indicates that 1.1 million people in Gaza are experiencing catastrophic food insecurity and widespread famine is imminent and expected to occur anytime between now and the next month if there is not an immediate cessation of hostilities. 

While we appreciate your administration’s recent efforts to increase the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, these efforts will not be sufficient to meet the extraordinary need on the ground. The Israeli government’s restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza, coupled with the death and grave harm that aid workers have faced during this war, are compounding this hunger crisis. Recent reports indicate that hundreds of aid trucks sit idle outside the Rafah border crossing due to Israel’s restrictions. And now over 200 aid workers have been killed since the start of the war. These attacks and deaths are having a chilling effect with the World Central Kitchen and other humanitarian groups now suspending their operations in Gaza. Until now, World Central Kitchen has provided more than 43 million meals to Palestinians in Gaza, lending support to 68 community kitchens throughout the territory and serving more than 170,000 hot meals each day. Its services are irreplaceable, and its absence will fuel the growing hunger crisis in Gaza.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated that this was a “tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people.” If this is true, it is a shockingly unacceptable mistake. We strongly urge your administration to conduct a thorough investigation into this airstrike to determine how the aid convoy could have been mistakenly targeted despite coordinating their movements with the Israeli military and traveling in clearly marked vehicles.

Given the horrifying facts on the ground, we are also greatly concerned by your recent decision to authorize an arms transfer to Israel, which reportedly includes 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs, and 25 F-35A fighter jets. The MK-84 2000-pound bombs have been linked to multiple mass casualty events in Gaza and are capable of killing or wounding people more than 1,000 feet away. We are also concerned by recent reports that the administration is considering authorizing another $18 billion arms transfer to include dozens of F-15 aircraft.

In light of the recent strike against aid workers and the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustifiable to approve these weapons transfers. We again strongly urge you to withhold any offensive weapons transfers until the investigation into the airstrike is concluded and, if it is found this strike violated U.S. or international law, those responsible are held accountable. And we again urge you to ensure that any future military assistance to Israel, including already authorized transfers, is subject to conditions to ensure it is used in compliance with U.S. and international law. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

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