US makes dramatic move against Israel
The US Government has sent a letter to Israel demanding it improve humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza within 30 days or else it could halt military assistance.
The October 13 letter, penned by US secretary of state Antony Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin, threatened to pause the delivery of US weapons and aid to Israel unless the Jewish state provided assurance that humanitarian aid flowed into Gaza unhindered, according to reports in Israeli media.
The American officials found that since April, there had been a significant deterioration in the amount of aid entering Gaza despite Israel’s vow to keep food and supplies coming back in March, reports The New York Post.
“To reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory and consistent with its assurances to us, Israel must — starting now and within 30 days — act on the following concrete measures,” the letter reads.
The US is calling for Israel to focus on three main categories: increasing humanitarian aid supplies by the winter, facilitating a delivery route through Jordan, and ending the state of “isolation” in northern Gaza.
“Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy under NSM-20 and relevant U. law,” the letter stated — referring to the policy that requires recipients of foreign aid to comply with international laws of war, and not to prevent humanitarian aid to civilians.
The letter was sent to Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, who spoke with Mr Austin on Sunday to reassure his American counterpart that the Jewish state was not implementing a plan to seal off aid to northern Gaza in an attempt to starve Hamas, website Axios reports.
Reports of the “siege and starvation” plan raised immediate concerns among humanitarian groups working in Gaza who feared the strategy would punish refugees in the area who have been repeatedly displaced by the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
“A military siege that deprives civilians of essential means of survival is unacceptable,” UN humanitarian co-ordinator Muhannad Hadi said in a statement.
“Civilians must not be forced to choose between displacement and starvation,” he added.
Northern Gaza continues to see intense fighting as Hamas terrorists re-emerge in the area despite heavy losses and more than a year of intense air strikes.
Israel has implemented wider and wider evacuation calls in the area to try and isolate Hamas in an attempt to clear northern Gaza once and for all, but thousands of civilians remain as they have nowhere else to go in the war-torn territory.
Along with the humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza, US officials are also concerned with the flow of aid arriving at other crossing stations, according to the letter.
Israel has repeatedly denied hindering deliveries, noting that 30 trucks carrying flour and food from the UN had entered Gaza on Sunday.
UN officials have said that the current amount of aid entering Gaza is not enough to help feed the more than 1 million refugees displaced by the fighting.
