Humanitarian aid restrictions may violate US law, US Democrats say

WASHINGTON: A group of US senators wants Congress' watchdog agency to investigate whether controls on humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel and other foreign governments violate US law, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The six senators - Chris Van Hollen, Dick Durbin, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Peter Welch - wrote to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro asking him to launch an investigation by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office of the US government's implementation of laws regarding the delivery of humanitarian assistance. All of the senators are Democrats except Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats.

"In Ethiopia, Sudan, Ukraine, Burma, Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gaza, vital humanitarian assistance such as food, medical equipment, water purification systems, and other lifesaving goods have been blocked or restricted, directly and indirectly, by state and non-state actors," they said in a letter, dated Monday and seen by Reuters, referring to Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Laws. 

The Leahy Laws prohibit the supply of US assistance to any foreign security force unit implicated in gross violations of human rights, including torture and extrajudicial killing. Section 620I bars assistance for countries that impede delivery of humanitarian aid.

Much recent concern has focused on Gaza. The United Nations and Palestinian representatives at the International Court of Justice have accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza, after Israel began on Mar 2 to cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave. Israel has defended its blockade against aid entering Gaza, alleging that Hamas steals supplies intended for the civilian population and distributes them to its own forces, an allegation that Hamas denies. 

Activists have long argued that the United States disregards its own laws in sending military and other assistance abroad.

Concern about civilians in Gaza has risen since Republican President Donald Trump, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, began his second term on Jan 20.

Aid workers also have accused Sudanese paramilitaries of constraining aid deliveries in territories where it is seeking to cement its control.

Rights groups sounded alarms on Monday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet approved plans for an expanded offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas that might include seizing the entire Gaza Strip and controlling aid.

The war in Gaza followed Hamas' Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken hostage.

Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has since killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to local health authorities, and left much of Gaza in ruins.