Sullivan urges Israeli restraint on Rafah, stresses Ukraine munitions

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday urged Israel against a pending invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza and stressed the need for defense contractors to increase munitions production as the Biden administration readies an influx of new aid for Ukraine.

His remarks came after Congress passed a multi-billion-dollar aid package for both countries earlier this week and subsequent Israeli press reports that the Israel Defense Forces are preparing to move into Rafah , where more than 1 million Palestinians have fled.

“We have been absolutely clear about our grave concerns about an invasion of Rafah,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told Defense News. “We believe there are other ways to do it than an invasion. That is what we’ve talked to the Israelis about.”

Sullivan also stressed the $95 billion foreign aid package that President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday will help put the U.S. grow its munitions industrial base to help Ukraine counter Russia.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t limitations on what we can do because it does take time to crank up the industrial base,” he told Defense News at White House briefing to discuss the bill. “If you think about the picture of something like 155mm ammunition, we’ve doubled our national production of 155. By the end of this year we’ll have doubled it again and then be on track to go even beyond that.”

“There are other areas where the timelines for ramp up are longer, but the arrows are all pointing in the direction of the collective west ramping up its defense industrial base.”

Sullivan said he expects the Ukraine funding “at least through the end of this year” and likely into next year.

The package includes $48 billion in Ukraine-related funding for the Pentagon, $14 billion in Israel military assistance and nearly $4 billion to arm Taiwan and Indo-Pacific allies. Biden initially asked Congress for the supplemental spending package more than six months ago following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Growing Republican resistance to a fifth round of Ukraine assistance and initial opposition from former President Donald Trump , the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, significantly delayed the bill. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., opted to hold votes on the package earlier this month in the wake of a meeting with Trump and Iran’s attack on Israel.

After months of pressure from some congressional Democrats , Biden signed an executive memorandum in February requiring all military aid recipients – including Ukraine and Israel –to submit assurances that they will comply with international humanitarian law and U.S. human rights laws.

Under Biden’s memorandum, the Pentagon and State Department must assess Israel’s compliance with its human rights assurances in a report to Congress due May 8, with noncompliance possibly resulting in the suspension of military aid as stipulated by existing U.S. laws.

“We’ll give an updated assessment on both the question of humanitarian assistance and civilian protection and conduct of military operations,” said Sullivan. “The president has been clear and has said publicly that our policy in Gaza will be determined by Israeli conduct in Gaza and we’ll make our decisions accordingly.”

The memorandum exempts air defense systems and other defensive equipment from restrictions. The Israel military aid in Congress’ recent package includes $4 billion to replenish air defense interceptors, $4.4 billion to replenish things like air-to-ground munitions and artillery shells and $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing.

The Ukraine portion of the bill includes $23 billion to replenish U.S. weapons sent to Kyiv. Additionally, there’s another $13.8 billion in the bill to procure weapons contracts for Kyiv under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

The Pentagon is putting together a $1 billion package for Ukraine to transfer air defense interceptors, armored vehicles, anti-tank weapons and artillery rounds from U.S. stockpiles.

Politico also reported Thursday that the Pentagon will soon announce a $6 billion package through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, including artillery ammunition, drones, air-to-air missiles and Patriot air defense munitions.

“There is such a gap between where the collective west is and where it needs to be in terms of munitions stockpiles,” said Sullivan. “There is a need for replenishment on all of these systems that extends out years.”

“If anything, I believe that our defense industry is still underestimating, rather than overestimating, the need regardless of the precise duration or course of the war in Ukraine. And Patriot missile batteries are a great example.”

Correction: A typographical error in an earlier version of this story mislabeled the type of ammunition Sullivan referenced. He was referring to 155mm rounds.

Bryant Harris is the Congress reporter for Defense News. He has covered U.S. foreign policy, national security, international affairs and politics in Washington since 2014. He has also written for Foreign Policy, Al-Monitor, Al Jazeera English and IPS News.

美国国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文周四敦促以色列不要入侵加沙南部的拉法，并强调随着拜登政府准备向乌克兰提供新的援助，国防承包商需要增加弹药产量。

此前，美国国会于本周早些时候通过了一项数十亿美元的援助计划，援助以色列和以色列两国。随后，以色列媒体报道称，以色列国防军正准备进驻拉法，那里有超过100万巴勒斯坦人逃亡。

“我们已经非常明确地表达了对入侵拉法的严重关切，”国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文告诉《防务新闻》。“我们认为除了入侵之外还有其他方法。这就是我们与以色列方面讨论的内容。”

沙利文还强调，乔·拜登总统周三签署生效的 950 亿美元对外援助计划将有助于美国发展其军火工业基础，以帮助乌克兰对抗俄罗斯。

“这并不意味着我们能做的事情就没有限制，因为扩大工业基础确实需要时间，”他在白宫就该法案举行的简报会上告诉《防务新闻》。“想想155毫米弹药的例子，我们已经将155毫米弹药的全国产量翻了一番。到今年年底，我们将再次翻番，然后有望实现更高的产量。”

“在其他一些领域，产能提升的时间表会更长，但所有迹象都表明，西方国家正在共同努力，提升其国防工业基础。”

沙利文表示，他预计对乌克兰的资助“至少会持续到今年年底”，而且很可能会持续到明年。

该方案包括向五角大楼提供480亿美元与乌克兰相关的资金，向以色列提供140亿美元的军事援助，以及向台湾和印太盟友提供近40亿美元的武器装备。拜登最初是在哈马斯10月7日袭击以色列后，于六个多月前向国会提出这项补充支出方案的请求。

共和党人对第五轮乌克兰援助的抵制日益加剧，加上共和党总统候选人提名人、前总统唐纳德·特朗普最初的反对，导致该法案的通过被大大推迟。但众议院议长、路易斯安那州共和党人迈克·约翰逊在本月初与特朗普会晤以及伊朗袭击以色列之后，选择就该方案进行投票。

在一些国会民主党人数月的压力下，拜登于2月份签署了一份行政备忘录，要求所有军事援助接受国（包括乌克兰和以色列）提交保证，保证他们将遵守国际人道主义法和美国人权法。

根据拜登的备忘录，五角大楼和国务院必须在5月8日之前向国会提交一份报告，评估以色列遵守其人权保证的情况；如果以色列不遵守保证，可能会根据现行的美国法律暂停对以色列的军事援助。

“我们将就人道主义援助、平民保护和军事行动开展等问题给出最新评估，”苏利文说。“总统已经明确表示，并公开表示，我们在加沙的政策将取决于以色列在加沙的行为，我们将据此做出决定。”

该备忘录豁免了防空系统和其他防御装备不受限制。国会最近通过的援助以色列方案中，包括40亿美元用于补充防空拦截器，44亿美元用于补充空地弹药和炮弹等物资，以及35亿美元的对外军事融资。

该法案中有关乌克兰的部分包括230亿美元，用于补充美国向基辅输送的武器。此外，该法案还包含138亿美元，用于根据乌克兰安全援助倡议为基辅采购武器。

五角大楼正在筹备一项价值 10 亿美元的援助计划，用于向乌克兰转移美国库存中的防空拦截器、装甲车、反坦克武器和炮弹。

Politico 周四还报道称，五角大楼即将通过乌克兰安全援助计划宣布一项价值 60 亿美元的援助方案，其中包括炮弹、无人机、空对空导弹和爱国者防空弹药。

“西方国家整体的军备储备与所需储备之间存在巨大差距，”苏利文说。“所有这些系统的补充需求都将持续数年。”

“我认为，无论乌克兰战争的具体持续时间和进程如何，我们的国防工业仍然低估了而非高估了战争的需求。爱国者导弹系统就是一个很好的例子。”

更正：此前版本报道中一处印刷错误，误标了苏利文所指的弹药类型。他指的是155毫米炮弹。

布莱恩特·哈里斯是《防务新闻》的国会记者。自2014年以来，他一直在华盛顿报道美国外交政策、国家安全、国际事务和政治。他还曾为《外交政策》、《Al-Monitor》、《半岛电视台英语频道》和IPS新闻撰稿。