US intelligence officials have temporarily suspended sharing key information with Israel during the Biden administration due to concerns about the conduct of the war in Gaza.
This was revealed by "Reuters". The agency cited six people familiar with the matter.
In the second half of 2024, the United States cut off live video transmission from a US drone over Gaza. It was used by the Israeli government in the pursuit of hostages and Hamas fighters. The suspension lasted at least several days, five of the sources said.
The United States has also restricted how Israel can use certain intelligence in pursuit of high-value military targets in Gaza, two of the sources said, declining to say when the decision was made.
All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity.
The decision came as concerns grew in the U.S. intelligence community about the number of civilian casualties in Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Officials were also concerned that the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, had mistreated Palestinian prisoners, the sources said.
According to three of the sources, officials were concerned that Israel had not given sufficient assurances that it would comply with the laws of war when using U.S. information. Under U.S. law, intelligence agencies must obtain such assurances before sharing information with a foreign country.
While the Biden administration has maintained a policy of continued support for Israel, both with intelligence sharing and weapons, the decision within the intelligence agencies to withhold information was limited and tactical, two of the sources said. Officials sought to ensure that Israel used U.S. intelligence in accordance with military law, the sources said.
One person familiar with the matter said that intelligence officials have the discretion to make some decisions about sharing intelligence in real time without a White House order. Another person familiar with the matter said that any requests by Israel to change how it uses U.S. intelligence would require new assurances about how it would use the information.
"Reuters" could not determine the dates of the decisions or whether President Joe Biden was aware of them. A Biden spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
The intelligence sharing resumed after Israel gave assurances that it would abide by U.S. rules.
The Biden administration’s concerns about Israel’s actions in Gaza have been widely reported, but less is known about how the U.S. intelligence community has maintained its relationship with its Israeli counterparts.
Israel and the United States have maintained security cooperation throughout the Gaza war, the Israeli military press service said, without directly addressing the instances in which intelligence was withheld.
"Strategic intelligence cooperation has continued throughout the war," the press service wrote in an email.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which controls the Shin Bet, did not respond to a request for comment.