Report: US Military Aid Sustains Gaza Destruction

Bill Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, stated that the devastation in Gaza would be physically impossible without US financing, spare parts, and consistent technical assistance. According to the report, the Biden and Trump administrations provided $17.9 billion during the first year of the war, followed by an additional $3.8 billion sent to the Israel Defense Forces since October 2024. These figures exclude billions more in pending arms agreements.

The Human Cost of Military Support

The report highlights that this continuous supply chain has persisted despite documented reports of civilian targeting and the blocking of humanitarian aid, which violates Section 6201 of the Foreign Assistance Act. While the US provided over $8 billion in military financing and $4.4 billion in direct weapons, the Gaza Ministry of Health reports that at least 67,173 Palestinians have been killed. Additional findings from Neta Crawford, co-founder of the Costs of War Project, detail the scale of the crisis:

• The forced displacement of approximately 90% of the Gazan population.
• The destruction of 90% of housing units and 78% of all structures.
• The killing of more than 18,000 children and the creation of an unprecedented orphan crisis.
• The deaths of at least 554 aid workers and 248 journalists.

Stephanie Savell, director of the project, emphasized that while the data points to massive numbers, the focus remains on the vast human suffering caused by these policies. Despite ongoing peace talks in Egypt, analysts note that neither the Biden nor Trump administrations have leveraged Israel's reliance on US military hardware to force a change in conduct or a halt to the bombardment.