Key Takeaway: U.S. intelligence agencies briefly cut a live MQ-9 drone feed to Israel and limited some intelligence uses in the second half of 2024 amid concerns over civilian deaths in Gaza and alleged mistreatment of Palestinian detainees. The restrictions were tactical and short-lived; sharing resumed after Israel provided assurances about lawful use of U.S.-origin information. Senior officials later debated a broader suspension, but President Biden declined to end the partnership after legal review.
U.S. Temporarily Withheld Drone Feed and Restricted Some Intelligence To Israel Over Gaza Conduct Concerns
U.S. and Israeli flags and a lectern set up in the State Dining Room at the White House before a joint press conference of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 29, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies briefly halted the flow of certain sensitive information to Israel during the Biden administration amid growing concerns about how Israeli forces were conducting operations in Gaza, according to six people familiar with the matter.
Drone Feed Cut Amid Detainee And Civilian Casualty Concerns
Sources said that in the second half of 2024 the United States cut a live video feed from a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone that had been flown over Gaza and provided to Israeli authorities to assist in hostage recovery and in locating Hamas operatives. Five sources said the suspension lasted at least a few days.
Two other sources said Washington also imposed limits on how Israel could use some U.S.-origin intelligence for strikes against high-value targets in Gaza, though they declined to provide precise dates for those restrictions.
Why Intelligence Sharing Was Curtailed
Officials in the U.S. intelligence community grew increasingly worried about the number of civilian deaths in Gaza and received information that raised questions about the treatment of Palestinian detainees by Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency. Three sources said U.S. law requires assurances from foreign partners that American-origin intelligence will not be used in ways that violate the law of war, and officials were not satisfied adequate assurances had been provided.
"Agency officials can make some real-time sharing decisions without a direct White House order," one person familiar with the matter said.
Another source said that if Israel wanted to change how it used U.S. intelligence, it would have had to provide new assurances about the intended use.
Policy Context And Diplomatic Sensitivities
After the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, President Biden signed a memorandum directing national security agencies to expand intelligence cooperation with Israel. In the immediate aftermath, a U.S. team led by the Pentagon and the CIA flew MQ-9 Reapers over Gaza and provided live video to Israeli authorities, according to three people familiar with the program. Reuters could not determine the specific advantages the U.S. drone feed offered beyond Israel's own capabilities.
Officials said the temporary suspension was limited and tactical and did not amount to a halt in broader U.S. support: the Biden administration continued to send weapons and intelligence to Israel. Still, experts said denying battlefield intelligence to a close ally during active conflict is unusual and underscores serious friction within the intelligence relationship.
Resumption, Internal Deliberations And White House Review
Sources said intelligence sharing resumed after Israel provided the assurances U.S. agencies sought. In the final weeks of the Biden administration, senior national security officials held an NSC meeting chaired by President Biden at which intelligence officials proposed a more formal suspension of some intelligence cooperation. According to two people familiar with the meeting, Biden declined to cut the partnership, with White House lawyers concluding there was no legal breach and officials worrying a future administration might simply renew cooperation.
Throughout the war, U.S. intelligence analysts repeatedly assessed whether actions by Israeli forces or Hamas met U.S. definitions of war crimes. Those internal evaluations, while not formal legal determinations, raised serious questions about civilian casualties and detainee treatment, two sources said. Multiple former officials said administration lawyers ultimately concluded Israel had not violated international law.
Human Cost And Reaction
Gaza health authorities say more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, most of them civilians. Rights groups have reported alleged abuses of Palestinians in detention during the war; Israel says abuse is not systemic and that its military is investigating dozens of cases.
The Israeli military press office said strategic intelligence cooperation continued throughout the war but did not directly address the instances when information was withheld. The prime minister’s office, Shin Bet, the CIA, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not provide substantive comments to Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Don Durfee and Deepa Babington)
