State Department spokesperson Matt Miller is uncertain about many aspects of Israel’s war on Gaza.
He is unsure of the exact amount of military aid that the U.S. has provided to Israel during the conflict, despite his department being responsible for overseeing such assistance.
He does not have precise figures on the additional billions of dollars allocated in supplemental funding above the annual baseline of $3.3 billion in aid to Israel.
While acknowledging that extra funds have been allocated, Miller admitted to not knowing the exact amount. “There are different ways of looking at it,” Miller stated.
Miller firmly disputes a recent comprehensive report by the Costs of War Project at Brown University on U.S. spending related to Israel’s military operations and associated U.S. activities.
Costs of War Project calculated at least $22.76 billion in military aid since October 7, 2023.
An in-depth analysis by the Costs of War Project estimated a minimum of $22.76 billion in military aid, combining approved U.S. security assistance to Israel since October 7, 2023, supplemental funding for regional operations, and estimated additional costs of operations like strikes against Houthi forces in Yemen. This figure includes $17.9 billion in approved security assistance for Israeli military operations in Gaza and other areas since October 2023. This amount surpasses any previous year since the U.S. began providing military aid to Israel in 1959. For instance, in 2022, the U.S. provided Israel with $5.1 billion in military aid.
Miller objected to the report, which also included costs for U.S. Navy operations to protect maritime shipping from attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen, currently totaling $4.86 billion. He noted, “It conflates a number of things, including direct U.S. military spending to combat the Houthis attacking international shipping, which is included in that number, and is obviously not aid to Israel.”
William Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and co-author of the Costs of War report, emphasized that the analysis includes such details due to the lack of transparency regarding the costs of the war.
“The State Department spokesman is correct that our analysis combines various factors influencing the cost of U.S. military support for Israel and our expanding role in the region. That was the intention – to reveal how much taxpayers are contributing to a misguided policy of arming Israel despite allegations of war crimes that some experts suggest could be considered a genocide,” Hartung explained to The Intercept.
“That was the point – to show how much taxpayers are providing in support of a deeply misguided policy to continue arming Israel even as it commits war crimes that some experts believe can plausibly be called a genocide.”
The State Department acknowledged inquiries from The Intercept regarding the Costs of War report, Miller’s statements, and the department’s own record of U.S. aid to Israel, but did not respond before publication.
U.S. weapon deliveries to Israel since October 7, 2023, include 57,000 artillery shells, 36,000 rounds of cannon ammunition, 20,000 M4A1 rifles, and 13,981 anti-tank missiles.
“Let there be no doubt, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” President Joe Biden recently stated, despite his administration acknowledging the likelihood that Israel has utilized U.S. weapons in Gaza in violation of international law.
In August, the Biden administration sanctioned five significant arms sales to Israel, including 50 F-15 fighter aircraft, tank ammunition, tactical vehicles, air-to-air missiles, and 50,000 mortar rounds, totaling over $20 billion. These sales are currently under debate in Congress.
“We are careful to segregate out the $20 billion in arms offers currently under challenge in Congress – they are not part of our cost estimate or of arms transfers definitively destined for Israel,” Hartung stressed. “And we see the increased deployments and activities of the U.S. military in the region as being linked primarily to the chaos resulting from Israel’s brutal campaign in Gaza.”
