Theater

But what can Biden do???

The move to rush Israel more weapons comes as US officials repeatedly put out statements urging Israel to wage its war on Gaza more carefully, with more attention to preventing civilian harm. “The administration continues to express concern about civilian harm, but this is yet more evidence that it’s all just words,” said Matthew Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders. “When it comes down to it, they’re gonna keep passing them the ammunition to kill civilians.”

Finucane said that, in addition to undermining the administration’s rhetoric about curbing civilian suffering in Gaza, the sale of tank ammunition, as well as other weapons sales, threatens to undermine the administration’s goal of preventing the war on Gaza from becoming a full-blown regional conflict. “Is Israel envisioning prolonged combat operations in the Gaza Strip for which these shells would be used? Is it envisioning a potential significant escalation with Hezbollah—something the US government does not seem to want—in the north?” he said. “These are the bigger picture policy questions about what war Israel is going to use these for—and whether that’s a war the US wants to be fueling.”