Eight international aid groups have jointly reprimanded Israel for not only failing to “meet the specific criteria” the Biden administration laid out in an Oct. 13 letter demanding that the U.S. ally drastically stem the flow of refugees enlarge, humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip within 30 days, but accuses Israel of “taking actions that have dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, especially in North Gaza.”
The American letter had threatened to cut off some US military aid to Israel if its demands were not met within 30 days – a deadline that has now passed.
“Israel’s actions did not meet the specific criteria set out in the US letter,” the eight humanitarian groups, including Save the Children and Oxfam, said in a joint assessment of Israel’s response to US demands.
Palestinians expelled from shelters in Beit Hanoun cross the main Salaheddine road to Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip following evacuation orders from the Israeli army on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. /Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images
The joint statement was released on Tuesday as the US State Department said it believes Israel is not violating US laws blocking aid deliveries to Gaza, and that Israel has taken steps to meet US demands. so that there would be no change in the current provision. of American weapons to Israel.
According to the aid agencies’ report, the humanitarian situation is even more dire today than a month ago, especially in northern Gaza, which has borne the brunt of Israel’s ongoing war with the Iranian-backed group Hamas.
“We have seen some progress,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Tuesday. “We would like to see more changes happen.”
Earlier this month, a United Nations-backed report warned of “an immediate and substantial likelihood of famine, due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip.”
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Brussels that “now must be the moment to end the war in the Middle East,” adding that Israel “has achieved its goals by the standards it has set for itself.” achieved what it set out to achieve.”
In a statement also released on Tuesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said “living conditions throughout Gaza are unsuitable for human survival,” warning that food supplies remained inadequate.
OCHA cited an increase in “violent armed looting of our convoys… driven by the collapse of law and order and security” in Gaza, but added that the main challenges in delivering aid to the more than 2 million residents of Gaza “were not logistical problems – they can be solved with the right political will.”
“Our ability to respond is being undermined,” the agency said, specifically citing the Israeli parliament’s recent move to ban the UN’s own aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, from operating in Gaza from January.
“If this bill is implemented, it will be another devastating blow to efforts to provide lifesaving aid and avert the threat of famine,” OCHA said.
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