18 palestinians have reportedly been killed — mostly children. the israeli war cabinet has been planning an offensive against hamas in rafah, where an estimated 1.5 million displaced palestinians are sheltering. but the us and other allies have warned israel against a full—scale assault on the city. early i spoke to the bbc�*s diplomatic correspondence james landale. here is his analysis. well, what it does is it's a reminder ofjust the core of the relationship between israel america and it's one that is purely military. the united states gives israel $3 billion worth of military aid every year. it's a law that was passed in america to say that this must happen. so the extra money, the $13 billion