Nov. 13 (UPI) — The United States has determined that Israel has substantially met its demand to take “concrete steps” to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza within 30 days or risk losing military assistance provided by Washington in line with U.S. law.
While more needed to be done, Israel was not in breach of U.S. law, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told the department’s regular press briefing Tuesday — the day the 30-day deadline set by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expired.
Patel said Israel had taken a number of steps to address the measures laid out in an Oct. 13 letter penned by Blinken and Austin including reopening the Erez crossing, establishing a new crossing at Kissufim and waiving certain customs requirements for the Jordanian armed forces corridor.
Other improvements included the opening of additional delivery routes within Gaza, including Bani Suheila Road, greater use of the Israeli fence road, repairs to the coastal road and the resumption of some deliveries to the north — to Gaza City and most recently to areas around Jabalia — and the expansion of the Mawasi humanitarian zone.
“This is all to say, we at this time have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of U.S. law. But most importantly, we are going to continue to watch how these steps that they’ve taken, how they are being implemented, how that they can be continued to be expanded on,” said Patel.
“And through that, we’re going to continue to assess their compliance with U.S. law. We’ve seen some progress being made. We would like to see some more changes happen. We believe that had it not been for U.S. intervention these changes may not have ever taken place. But most importantly, we want to see continued progress, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Aid agencies and the United Nations, however, disagreed, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Tuesday told a Security Council briefing that “conditions of life across Gaza are unfit for human survival.”
While welcoming the opening of the new Kissufim crossing at the 11th hour on Tuesday morning, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya warned of potential famine and grave violations of international laws in Gaza, calling for unimpeded humanitarian access to those in need.
Msuya said that as she spoke Israeli authorities were blocking humanitarian assistance from entering North Gaza, where fighting continued, and around 75,000 people remained with dwindling water and food supplies.
“Conditions of life across Gaza are unfit for human survival. Food is insufficient. Shelter items — needed ahead of winter — are in extremely short supply. Violent armed lootings of our convoys have become increasingly organized along routes from Kerem Shalom, driven by the collapse of public order and safety.
“Essential commercial goods and services including electricity have been all but cut off. This has led to increasing hunger, starvation and now, as we have heard, potentially famine. We are witnessing acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes.
“The latest offensive that Israel started in North Gaza last month is an intensified, extreme and accelerated version of the horrors of the past year,” she said.
With fuel for mechanical diggers blocked by Israel, many remained trapped beneath rubble and first responders had been prevented from reaching them. Ambulances had been destroyed and hospitals attacked.
Supplies to the north were being cut off and people pushed further south, Msuya said.
“The daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits. Beit Hanoun has been besieged for more than one month. Yesterday, food and water reached shelters, but today, Israeli soldiers forcibly displaced people from those same areas. People under siege now tell us they are afraid that they will be targeted if they receive help,” she added.
Many food assistance kitchens had been forced to close and daily food distribution during October was down almost 25% from September levels.
Msuya said these were not logistical problems but issues that could be resolved with the right political will, adding that the Israeli military’s announcement that the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza is now open “cannot come soon enough.”
Eight aid agencies, including Oxfam, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council said Tuesday that the measures Israel had taken failed to meet any of the specific criteria set out in the U.S. letter.
“Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza. That situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago.
“The principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee now assess that the entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence.”
The NGOs said their scorecard underscored Israel’s failure to comply with U.S. demands and international obligations and that it should be held accountable for the end result of failing to ensure adequate food, medical, and other supplies reached people in need.
Blinken and Austin’s letter demanded Israel allow 350 aid trucks daily into Gaza at a minimum, but U.N. data showed just 37 a day during October, the lowest figure since the conflict started, although that number has risen this month.
The arm of the Israeli military responsible for humanitarian affairs in the Gaza Strip, GOGAT, insisted Israel had complied with U.S. demands, telling the BBC “most aspects have been met and those which have not are being discussed, [and] some U.S. demands are for issues that were being resolved already.”
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