“Boost Gaza aid or risk cut to military support”, US warns Israel

The US has warned Israel that it has 30 days to increase access to humanitarian aid in Gaza or risk having some US military support discontinued.

According to BBC, the letter, sent on October 13, 2024, amounts to the most severe written warning ever sent by the United States to its ally.

This occurs in the midst of a fresh Israeli offensive in northern Gaza that has allegedly claimed many civilian lives.

It states that the worsening humanitarian situation is a major concern for the United States.

It added that nearly 90% of humanitarian movements between the north and south were blocked by Israel last month.

An Israeli official was quoted as saying that Israel is analyzing the letter, adding that the nation “takes this matter seriously” and will to “address the concerns raised” with its colleagues in the United States.

Israel has reportedly stated that it is not preventing the entry of humanitarian aid.

But instead it is targeting Hamas operatives in the north, as reported.

According to Cogat, the Israeli military organization in charge of overseeing crossings into Gaza reported on October 14, 2024, that 30 trucks bringing World Food Programme supplies reached northern Gaza through the Erez crossing.

That ended the two-week period during which UN reported that no food aid was supplied to the north.

It was also reported that the 400,000 Palestinians living there were running low on goods necessary for survival.

According to a UN official, there is a “constant peak emergency” in Gaza.

The World Food Programme’s (WFP) head in the occupied Palestinian territories, Mr. Antoine Renard, told the AFP news agency that residents in the northern part of the region were “relying solely on assistance”.

He disclosed that they had little access to fresh food outside of that supplied by UN organizations.

Israeli strike on Gaza hospital premises was witnessed as ‘so many people burning’.

“I say bye to my kids, in case we don’t wake up”, two Gazans videotape while under Israel attack.

A retired general’s “surrender or starve” combat strategy is reportedly hinted to by the Israeli offensive on northern Gaza.

According to reports, US is by far Israel’s largest weaponry supplier.

For the past year, the Israeli military has fought against Hamas in Gaza mostly using US-supplied military support.

This includes planes, guided bombs, missiles, and shells.

The letter was signed by both Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“We are now writing to underscore the US government’s deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and seek urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory,” it says.

It claims that 1.7 million people have been displaced by Israeli evacuation orders into the confined, coastal al-Mawasi area.

It asserts that they are very overcrowded at the area, and at “high risk of lethal contagion”.

According to humanitarian organizations, their basic requirements cannot be supplied.

“We are particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government including halting commercial imports, denying or impeding nearly 90% of humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza in September, continuing burdensome and excessive dual-use restrictions, and instituting new vetting and onerous liability and customs requirements for humanitarian staff and shipments, together with increased lawlessness and looting – are contributing to an accelerated deterioration in the conditions in Gaza,” it adds.

Israel “must, starting now and within 30 days” take a number of tangible steps to increase relief supplies”, according to the letter.

The letter also warns that failure to do so might “have implications for US policy”.

It makes reference to US legislation that forbids providing military support to nations that obstruct the delivery of US humanitarian aid.

It states that Israel must “surge all forms of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza” prior to winter.

This includes allowing residents of al-Mawasi to relocate inland.

It also includes permitting at least 350 lorries per day to enter through the four main crossings and a new fifth crossing.

Additionally, it urges Israel to halt the “isolation of northern Gaza” by restating that “no Israeli government policy of forced evacuation of civilians” will exist from the north to the south.

During a press briefing in Washington on Tuesday, the US State Department spokesperson Mr. Matthew Miller told reporters that the letter was “a private diplomatic communication that we did not intend to make public”.

“Secretary Blinken along with Secretary Austin thought it was appropriate to make clear to the government of Israel that there are changes they need to make again to see the level of assistance making it into Gaza comes back up,” he said.

Mr. Miller refrained from speculating about the potential repercussions for Israel in the event that it did not increase access to humanitarian aid.

But he noted: “Recipients of US military assistance do not arbitrarily deny or impede provisioning of US humanitarian assistance.

“That’s just the law and we of course will follow the law.

“But our hope is that Israel will make the changes that we have outlined”, he added.

Additionally, he stated that the 30-day period was “appropriate to give them time to work through the different issues”.

He stated that it had nothing to do with the US presidential election scheduled for November 5.

Israel criticizes UN agencies for not distributing supplies and has previously maintained that there are no restrictions on the quantity of aid or humanitarian assistance that can be sent into and throughout Gaza.

Additionally, it charges Hamas with aid theft, a charge the organization disputes.

In an attempt to deter Israel from launching a full-scale attack, President Joe Biden stopped a single shipment of 2,000 and 500 pound bombs for the first time prior to Israel’s ground invasion in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in May.

However, the president was quickly criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Republicans in Washington, who seemed to liken it to an “arms embargo.”

In July, the suspension was partially lifted, and it hasn’t happened again.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said earlier on October 15, 2024, that families in northern Gaza are “facing unimaginable fear, loss of loved ones, confusion, and exhaustion” as a result of the Israeli offensive that started ten days ago.

In an effort to drive away Hamas fighters who have reassembled in the town of Jabalia and its urban refugee camp, the Israeli military claims to have moved tanks and troops back into the area for the third time.

Residents of Jabalia and the nearby towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun have been instructed to relocate to the “humanitarian area” of al-Mawasi.

Approximately 50,000 Palestinians have fled to Gaza City and other northern locations, according to UN.

However, for many, leaving their houses is risky, or they are unable to do so due to illness or disability.

In a voice message, Khalid, a Jabalia resident whose stories from the previous year are included in a new BBC documentary, claimed that he and his family had been living in constant fear for a week.

“We were told to go to the south, but we couldn’t because the Israeli army has surrounded the area, either with dirt barricades or using quadcopter drones.

“We can’t move, it’s too difficult.

“At the same time, because of the intense bombing we’re living in constant terror.

“My daughter has become sick and she has a fever.

“Her entire body is shaking in fear because of the sound of the bombings and I don’t know what to do with her.

“I can’t even take her to the hospital,” he added.

According to Gaza’s Civil Defense organization, the bodies of 42 persons killed by Israeli air and artillery strikes in Jabalia and surrounding areas on Tuesday have been found by its first set of responders, which is administered by Hamas.

Eleven members of the same family, almost all of whom were women and children, were reported to be among them.

Overnight, an airstrike demolished their home.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that its troops killed “dozens of terrorists” in the Jabalia region during the course of the previous day.

Echoing broader Palestinian fears, Israeli human rights organizations issued a warning on Monday about what they described as “alarming signs that the Israeli military is beginning to quietly implement the Generals’ Plan.”

According to the contentious proposal, all people in the north would be forcibly relocated.

And any Hamas forces still present would be besieged in order to coerce their surrender and the release of Israeli prisoners.

The Israeli military claims that it is merely “getting civilians out of harm’s way” and denies that it is being used.

Following Hamas’ historic onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and 251 hostage-takings, Israel began a mission to eradicate the organization.

Since then, Gaza’s health ministry, which is governed by Hamas, has reported that more than 42,340 people have died there.

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