During the Biden administration, U.S. intelligence officials temporarily suspended the transfer of some sensitive information to Israel over concerns about its conduct in the war in Gaza, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The sources said that in the second half of 2024, the United States cut off a live feed from an American drone flying over Gaza that Israel was using as part of efforts to locate hostages and track Hamas operatives. According to five of the sources, the suspension lasted at least several days.
Two of the sources said the United States also restricted how Israel could use certain intelligence in its efforts to identify high-value military targets in Gaza. The sources declined to specify when the decision was made but said it came amid growing concern within the U.S. intelligence community over the number of civilians killed in the war. U.S. officials were also worried, the sources said, that Israel’s Shin Bet security agency was mistreating Palestinian detainees.
Three sources told Reuters that U.S. intelligence officials feared Israel had not provided sufficient credible assurances that it would comply with the laws of war when using American intelligence — a requirement under U.S. law before sharing intelligence with a foreign country.
Despite the Biden administration’s continued support for Israel, both in intelligence cooperation and arms transfers, two sources said the decision to withhold some information was limited and tactical. The goal, they said, was to ensure Israel used the intelligence in accordance with the law.
One source familiar with the matter said intelligence officials have leeway to make certain real-time decisions on intelligence sharing without direct White House authorization. Another source said any Israeli request to change how U.S. intelligence was used required renewed assurances from Israel. Reuters said it could not determine whether President Joe Biden was aware of the specific decisions made by intelligence officials.
After the Oct. 7 attack, Biden signed a memorandum directing national security agencies to expand intelligence sharing with Israel, according to two sources. In the days that followed, three sources said the United States set up a team of intelligence officers and analysts led by the Pentagon and the CIA that flew drones over Gaza and provided Israel with live feeds to help locate and detain Hamas operatives. The feeds also contributed information related to hostages.
Toward the end of 2024, four sources said U.S. intelligence officials received information that raised questions about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees. According to two of the sources, the Shin Bet failed to provide sufficient assurances that detainees were not being abused, prompting U.S. intelligence officials to cut off its access to the drone feeds.
Two sources familiar with the matter said that throughout the war, the United States regularly reviewed intelligence to determine whether Israel’s actions on the ground met U.S. definitions of war crimes. Those assessments, the sources said, raised serious questions about whether Israel was violating the law.
In the final weeks of the Biden administration, months after the intelligence had been cut off and later restored, senior U.S. national security officials met with Biden at the White House and recommended formally severing some of the intelligence sharing expanded after the Oct. 7 attack.
Biden ultimately decided not to cut off the intelligence cooperation, two sources said, arguing that the Trump administration was likely to renew the sharing anyway and that U.S. legal experts had determined Israel had not violated international law.