US Nearly Took Draconian Steps Against Israel in 2024, Ex-Advisor Says
Former US advisor Brett McGurk revealed that Joe Biden nearly took draconian measures against Israel over aid worker deaths in 2024, but an impending Iranian attack intervened.
Former US President Joe Biden was on the verge of taking "draconian steps" against Israel following the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in an IDF strike in the Gaza Strip in April 2024, but US intelligence pointing to an impending Iranian attack shifted the picture, according to Brett McGurk, former senior Middle East advisor to Biden. Speaking on the US television program "Face The Nation", McGurk also described Biden as having grown "fed up" with the conduct of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the war in Gaza.
"Had it not been for that impending missile attack, which forced us to deploy military forces, I think we would have taken some pretty draconian steps against Israel," McGurk said. He noted that the option of halting US arms supplies to Israel "was definitely on the table".
The Iranian Missile Barrage
The United States and its Arab and European allies helped Israel defend against the Iranian assault. According to McGurk, Iran launched 120 ballistic missiles, 170 drones, and 30 cruise missiles in the attack, all timed to reach their targets simultaneously.
In his new memoir, "Brink", McGurk describes a tense conversation between Biden and Netanyahu during that period, in which the US president warned the prime minister that weapons shipments could be cut off.
"You think I'm Santa Claus? There is no Santa in Israel, pal," McGurk quoted Biden as saying.
The US remains Israel's largest weapons supplier, providing billions of dollars in military assistance. At the same time, a 2023 State Department review concluded it was "reasonable to assess" that Israeli security forces used US-manufactured weapons in ways inconsistent with certain international humanitarian law obligations.
Iranian Nuclear Ambitions
McGurk noted that one of Biden's primary goals was to prevent a wider regional conflagration as exchanges of airstrikes between Iran and Israel continued intermittently.
In December 2024, McGurk traveled to Israel alongside US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as part of efforts to reach an agreement with Hamas for the release of remaining Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip. During the visit, according to McGurk, Netanyahu discussed the possibility of striking Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow—a site built inside a mountain used for enriching and storing high-grade uranium.
McGurk stated that in late 2024, the US administration feared Iran "might dash" toward producing weapons-grade uranium. Senior US officials were open to a strike if evidence emerged that Iran was building a bomb, but Netanyahu urged the US not to wait for that threshold.
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Intelligence Failures and October 7
Circumstances leading up to the October 7 attacks have also drawn renewed scrutiny. According to reports in US and Israeli media, officials from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates reportedly conveyed warnings to Israel regarding a major Hamas attack plan.
Netanyahu has strongly denied receiving such warnings. However, a former US official and a diplomatic source confirmed to CBS that UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed did warn Netanyahu in the weeks preceding the attack. According to the sources, the UAE knew Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was plotting a major assault, though they lacked specific intelligence regarding the timing or location.
McGurk emphasized that the US itself held no intelligence that could have provided advanced warning of the October 7 attacks: "We had nothing in the system that would have been a warning or indicator," he said. Nevertheless, he believes Israel should establish an official commission of inquiry to examine the conduct of the security establishment and the political leadership.
