The Biden administration has reportedly offered Israel “sensitive intelligence” to help root out Hamas leaders — prompting critics to claim this shows the White House withheld the crucial tactic to use as leverage.
The administration Monday adamantly denied the accusation that it held back intelligence from Israel during the allies’ public feud over how the Jewish state should proceed in Rafah.
The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the White House has been offering Israel the key intelligence over the past several weeks as Biden’s administration seeks to dissuade a full-blown Rafah invasion in Gaza, with the outlet citing four sources.
The US is dangling the offer to show Israel does not need to unleash its entire military wrath on the civilian-packed war-torn Palestinian region to nail leaders of the terror group, the sources said.
The outlet noted that the administration has sent Israel intelligence throughout the war but is seeking to make the case that with more sensitive US information on the Hamas leadership’s whereabouts, its ally can conduct a highly targeted operation rather than a full-scale incursion.
Numerous critics on the right lashed out at the administration after the report surfaced, fearing the US was suppressing critical intel during the devastating Israel-Hamas war.
“Apparently based on reports this morning … they’re withholding intelligence about the location of senior Hamas leaders … from Israel to try to force Israel not to go into Rafah,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) claimed on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Conservative commentator Guy Benson added on X, “So Biden is now withholding military aid AND valuable intelligence from the Israelis during their war against genocidal terrorists who murdered a bunch of Americans & are still holding American hostages. Surreal.’’
But a National Security Council rep told The Post on Monday, “We have already been helping Israel target Hamas’ leaders, and that work continues on an ongoing basis.
“We’re not holding anything back,’’ the representative insisted. “We believe [Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar] Sinwar should and indeed must be held accountable for the horrors of the October 7 attack.”
Last week, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby affirmed that the US has been collaborating with Israel on anti-terrorism efforts.
“We have a long, long, and solid relationship on the counterterrorism front with Israel, which includes intelligence-sharing and includes operational lessons learned and other means of cooperation,” he told reporters.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeatedly declared that the US has the same objective as Israel to take down Hamas.
“We have the same objective as Israel. We want to make sure that Hamas cannot govern Gaza again,” he told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
But President Biden, 81, has famously clashed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 74, over a possible major ground offensive into the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
The president has opposed any such operation without a credible plan for civilians in place, and top administration officials say they have yet to see one.
Rafah was once home to an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians, many of whom have taken shelter there in tents while fleeing the fighting into the northern regions of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has since moved to evacuate thousands and has conducted some lighter operations in the refugee-dense city.
Netanyahu contends that Rafah is one of the last remaining strongholds of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and has stated that the war will not end until Israel has conducted operations there.
US intelligence believes that Sinwar is not holed up in Rafah, according to multiple reports. But Israel appears to believe that other top terrorists are still in the city.
Last week, Biden confirmed that he is withholding the sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel — for now.
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem,” Biden, 81, told CNN.
Then last Friday, the State Department dropped a report that concluded it is “reasonable to assess” Israel violated international humanitarian law in Gaza.
Still, Biden’s team is underscoring that despite differences with Israel over Rafah, the administration remains deeply committed to helping its ally.
“No one has done more to defend Israel when it mattered than President Biden. He was there in the days after October 7th, the first president to go to Israel in the midst of a conflict,” Blinken told NBC’s “Meet the Press Sunday.”
“When Iran mounted an unprecedented attack on Israel some weeks ago – 300 projectiles, including ballistic missiles, launched at Israel – the United States for the first time ever participated in its active defense,” he added. “No one has done more than Joe Biden.”
