As per a news agency, the United States has told Israel that it must take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid. It is the strongest such warning from US Officials since Israel’s war with Hamas began a year ago.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to Israeli officials demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave amid a renewed Israeli offensive in northern Gaza. Failure to do so could impact US policy, said the letter, “We are particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government … are contributing to an accelerated deterioration in the conditions in Gaza,” said a copy of the letter posted by an Axios reporter on X.
The letter cited restrictions Israel was imposing, including those on commercial imports, the denial of most humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza, and “burdensome and excessive” restrictions on what goods can enter Gaza.
The letter outlined specific steps Israel must take within 30 days, including enabling a minimum of 350 trucks to enter Gaza per day, instituting pauses in fighting to allow aid delivery and rescinding evacuation orders to Palestinian civilians when there is no operational need.
“Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy … and relevant US law,” the letter said.
It cited Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits military aid to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian assistance.
It also cited a National Security Memorandum that US President Joe Biden issued in February that requires the State Department to report to Congress on whether it finds credible Israel’s assurances that its use of US weapons does not violate US or international law.
On the other hand, Israel says that it will consider US “opinions”, but plan of attack based on its national interests.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the letter “was not meant as a threat” but reiterated the urgency of increasing humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
“It appears to us that they (the Israelis) are taking this seriously,” Kirby said of the letter, without elaborating.
An Israeli official in Washington said the letter had been received and was being reviewed. “Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts,” the official said.
The letter is the clearest ultimatum yet to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government since the Gaza conflict began, raising the prospect of a shift in Washington’s support for Israel.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s attack on Oct 7 last year, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official Israeli figures which includes hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed 42,344 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations has described as reliable.
Presently, men, women and children, often in groups, leaving their areas in Gaza with whatever belongings they could carry – be it in cars, donkey carts, bicycles or simply on their heads.
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