US warns Israel about Gaza aid as deadline approaches

At a briefing at the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday, UN Middle East peace envoy Thor Wennesland said he had witnessed a “terrible humanitarian nightmare” during a recent visit to Gaza.

He said the northern Palestinian territory had received virtually no humanitarian aid since early October, when the Israeli military launched a ground offensive in the Jabaliya area that it said was aimed at preventing Hamas militants from regrouping there.

The operation killed dozens of Palestinians, caused massive displacement and led to the closure of essential services, including water wells and health facilities.

The US ambassador said reports of children starving for days in Jabaliya made her think about how she saw a girl starve to death nearly three decades ago.

Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said the Biden administration had made it clear to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must immediately address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and that the US “rejects any Israeli attempts to starve Palestinians in Jabaliya or anywhere else.”

“The US has been clear that Israel must allow food, medicine and other supplies into all of Gaza – especially the north, and especially as winter sets in – and protect the workers who distribute them,” she added.

Mr. Danon told the Council that Israel was “working diligently to deliver humanitarian aid.”

“The problem is not the flow of aid. It is Hamas who steals supplies, hoards them or sells them to fuel their machine of terror while Gazan civilians are neglected. Israel remains committed to working with our partners to deliver aid to those who need it,” he added.

On Oct. 13, the Biden administration told the Netanyahu government that Israel must take a series of specific steps within 30 days to increase aid supplies, citing U.S. laws that could prohibit military aid to countries that impede the delivery of American humanitarian aid.

These included allowing a minimum of 350 trucks a day to pass through all Israeli-controlled crossings into the Gaza Strip and an immediate end to the “isolation” of the north.

According to data published by Unrwa, externalJust 852 aid trucks have entered Gaza this month, down from about 3,000 in September. Since the letter was received, a total of 502 trucks have entered, with an average of 35 trucks crossing the border each day between 14 and 29 October.

Meanwhile, according to Israel’s own data, a total of 1,386 trucks passed across the border from October 1 to October 28., external – on average 49 per day. It said 670 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were also expected from Gaza.