By claiming that some progress has been made, the Biden administration avoided its own 30-day deadline for Israel to drastically increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip or risk a weapons cutoff. In a briefing Tuesday in Washington, State Department spokeswoman Vedant Patel stated that Israel has done enough to allay US worries but still has to do more. “At this point in time, we have not determined that the Israelis are breaking US law,” Patel said to reporters. “Of course, we will properly enforce US law if we don’t see steps being taken.”
The decision comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned their Israeli counterparts on October 13 of the “increasingly dire” situation in Gaza and gave Israel 30 days to rectify it. Despite being meant to place a private marker, the letter was made public. According to the October letter, a US statute mandates that nations that receive US weaponry “facilitate and not arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede” humanitarian assistance that the US provides or supports.
A famine review committee linked with the United Nations warned Friday of the “imminent and substantial likelihood of famine” as a result of “the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip.” It issued a warning that food access is at critical levels and “rapidly deteriorating,” and that action must be taken within days. Blinken and Austin’s letter demanded that Israel, among other things, cease the isolation of north Gaza, improve security for aid sites and the mobility of humanitarian workers, and permit at least 350 trucks of aid to enter Gaza every day.
According to Patel on Tuesday, the Israelis have taken actions like as reopening a crossing into Gaza, removing certain burdensome customs regulations for humanitarian supplies, and establishing new distribution routes inside Gaza. According to Patel on Tuesday, the Israeli government has to do more, although the Israelis have taken actions including reopening a crossing into Gaza, removing certain burdensome customs restrictions for assistance shipments, and creating new delivery routes inside Gaza. He noted that between November 1 and November 9, only 404 trucks entered Gaza, which is far less than the 350 trucks per day that the US letter calls for.
When questioned again how the US had decided the situation was improving when aid groups claimed it was becoming worse, Patel responded, “I would not view it as giving them a pass.” “I don’t want us to go down a rabbit hole of specific truck numbers,” he stated when questioned. In a statement released by the State Department, Blinken emphasized “the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza” while reviewing Israel’s actions with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Monday.
The transfer of food and medical supplies has been disrupted by the Israeli military’s successful siege of northern Gaza, which aid organizations claim is being carried out in pursuit of militants backed by Iran. Since Hamas militants, who control the strip, attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war that is currently in its second year, Blinken and other US officials have urged Israel on numerous occasions on the difficulties in the flow of food, water, and other supplies to Gaza.
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