The internal opposition to President Joe Biden’s policy of unparalleled support for Israel continues to accumulate, but has made little difference in the final months of his term, sources said Wednesday. In a letter obtained by the National Security Daily, a group of at least 20 White House staffers criticized the Biden administration for failing to follow through on demands issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon Secretary Lloyd Austin on October 13, in partnership with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which called on Israel to take “concrete measures” within 30 days to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The deadline expired on November 12, but the Biden administration announced that it would not abide by its pledge to impose any sanctions on Israel, even though Israel did not comply with the American threat to allow aid in.

The letter represents the latest domestic backlash against the White House's policy toward the Israeli offensive on Gaza and calls for a cut in military aid to Israel.

“Your time to do the right thing is running out, but decisive action can save precious lives in the next two months,” the employees wrote.

The employees, who work in the executive office of the president and are not directly involved in Middle East policy, were granted anonymity for fear of professional retaliation, the newspaper said.

So far, such messages have done little to move U.S. policy. Biden has repeatedly pledged “strong” support for Israel, and the Biden administration has backed away from its ultimatum to condition military aid to Israel on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. The death toll has reportedly risen to more than 43,000 since October 2023, including dozens killed in airstrikes on Sunday, believed to be mostly women and children.

Still, these types of messages provide further clarity about the intense domestic resistance Biden and his top aides are facing in their support for Israel as the death toll in Gaza rises. In this case, the letter is likely a last-ditch effort to persuade the outgoing president to change course before he leaves office (and before Trump’s allies begin preparing for a sweeping purge of the federal workforce).

One senior White House official explained why they sent the letter: “One of the things that drew me to this was the legacy,” the official said. “If the trajectory continues, it will be a legacy of horror.”

A similar push failed Wednesday in the Senate. The U.S. Senate blocked a bill that would have halted some arms sales to Israel, introduced by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, along with several Democratic lawmakers.

The bill was supported by 18 members, while 79 of the 100 members of the Senate opposed the resolution, which, if passed, would have stopped the sale of tank ammunition to Israel.

The Senate is scheduled to vote later on two other resolutions that would halt shipments of two other types of offensive military equipment.

All votes in favor of the measure were from Democrats, while those who opposed it included representatives from both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Supporters of the bill hoped that forcing a vote would encourage the Israeli government and President Joe Biden's administration to do more to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel appears to have ignored all previous calls to restore humanitarian aid even after the deadline, which has instead fallen to its lowest levels in several months. UNRWA said more than 100 food trucks were looted as they entered Gaza this morning, suggesting Israel was failing in its legal obligations to allow more aid trucks through.

While the staffers acknowledge in the new letter that Biden is on his way out, they allege that U.S. support for Israeli military operations violates several federal laws, including the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, the Foreign Assistance Act, and the Leahy Laws.

One of the signatories resigned after signing, citing the administration's policy toward Israel.

A White House National Security Council spokesman said the description of doing nothing was "not accurate at all."

The spokesman said that the administration had received some humanitarian commitments from Israel in response to its demands and that it had seen some improvement in the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

This is the latest in a series of messages from US government officials urging Biden to cut or restrict US support for Israel as humanitarian crises in Gaza and Lebanon worsen amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza for more than a year (and on Lebanon for two months).

In April, 185 lawyers in the United States and abroad — including dozens inside the administration — sent a letter to senior White House officials arguing that sending arms to Israel in the context of the ongoing war was illegal. Other senior U.S. officials challenged Blinken in an internal memo on whether Israel was using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with the law. And in July, more than 500 appointees and staffers issued an open letter condemning the profound humanitarian impact of U.S. policy in funding the war in Gaza.