In October, the White House set a deadline for Israel: the supply of aid should be significantly increased within 30 days. What has changed since then?
<img alt="Palestinian refugees leave the town of Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip to seek shelter further south.” data-nzz-tid=”article-image” width=”4032″ height=”3024″ src=”https://img.nzz.ch/2024/11/13/09b55b12-48e5-49a3-9876-4bbde56a03e1.jpeg?width=654&height=492&fit=bounds&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=4022,3024,x0,y0″ loading=”eager” srcset=”https://img.nzz.ch/2024/11/13/09b55b12-48e5-49a3-9876-4bbde56a03e1.jpeg?width=680&height=511&fit=bounds&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=4022,3024,x0,y0 680w, https://img.nzz.ch/2024/11/13/09b55b12-48e5-49a3-9876-4bbde56a03e1.jpeg?width=1360&height=1023&fit=bounds&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=4022,3024,x0,y0 1360w, https://img.nzz.ch/2024/11/13/09b55b12-48e5-49a3-9876-4bbde56a03e1.jpeg?width=327&height=246&fit=bounds&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=4022,3024,x0,y0 327w, https://img.nzz.ch/2024/11/13/09b55b12-48e5-49a3-9876-4bbde56a03e1.jpeg?width=654&height=492&fit=bounds&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=4022,3024,x0,y0 654w” class=”image-placeholder__image” style=”cursor:pointer;transform:scale(1);”/>
Palestinian refugees leave the town of Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip to seek shelter further south.
Hadi Daoud / Imago
On Tuesday, the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden confirmed that the US will not restrict its arms sales to Israel. Israel has implemented some, but not all, of the White House’s demands, said Vedant Patel, spokesman for the US State Department, at a press conference. “At this point in time, the US has not come to the conclusion that the Israelis are violating US law.”
On October 13, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a sensational letter to the Israeli government. It said Israel had 30 days to improve the “increasingly dire” humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip – otherwise the US would reconsider its military aid to the Jewish state.
Blinken and Austin cited a law that prohibits the US government from supporting foreign forces that commit “serious human rights violations.” The Jewish state has been accused for months of hindering aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip – Israel denies this.
The number of trucks is still small
Experts had speculated that Washington might withhold offensive weapons after the deadline. Until recently, this scenario had caused nervousness in Israel. The Israeli newspaper quoted “Haaretz» an Israeli official who pointed out that the Biden administration would still be in office for two months before Trump would lift any sanctions. “That’s enough time to cause us serious pain,” the official said.
It is now clear that the White House is not following through on its threat. So what has Israel done to improve the humanitarian situation? Spokesman Patel pointed out that Israel had opened several border crossings into the Gaza Strip and waived some customs regulations for aid organizations. In addition, the so-called humanitarian zone near al-Mawasi has been enlarged, and Israel has allowed aid deliveries to the northern Gaza Strip again after a break of several weeks.
However, Israel is not meeting one of the Americans’ key demands: In their letter dated October 13, Blinken and Lloyd wrote that 350 trucks with aid supplies would have to reach the Gaza Strip every day. According to aid organizations, this number is only 40 to 50 trucks per day in the south; in northern Gaza there are “very few”.
The Israeli army also has admittedthat October was a “very weak month” in terms of aid deliveries. This is due, among other things, to Jewish holidays and commemorations for the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023. However, according to the army, since the beginning of November, 50 trucks per day have reached northern Gaza and 150 trucks per day have reached the rest of the area. The figures from aid organizations and the army cannot be verified.
Experts warn of famine
However, the humanitarian situation in some parts of the Gaza Strip remains catastrophic, particularly in the north, where Israel launched a new offensive at the beginning of October and did not allow aid deliveries for several weeks. According to aid organizations, 100,000 people were recently displaced from northern Gaza to Gaza City, while tens of thousands apparently remain in the contested areas. UN experts said last week that famine was imminent or had already occurred in the northern Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, eight aid organizations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, had one open letter published. It says that Israel has not complied with US demands or its obligations under international law to provide adequate aid to Gaza.
However, the lack of aid is not only due to Israeli restrictions. Distribution is also a big problem: trucks are regularly looted by Hamas and armed gangs, and food is sold on the black market at inflated prices. Some aid organizations don’t even dare to bring the relief goods to the people. According to Israeli information, 900 truckloads are currently waiting at the Kerem Shalom border crossing to be picked up and distributed by aid organizations.
Blinken calls for an end to the war
Washington has now apparently concluded that Israel has barely fulfilled its obligations. Nevertheless, the USA is insisting on further improvement in the situation. On Tuesday, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the American ambassador to the United Nations, warned that there should be neither forced displacement nor a policy of starvation in the Gaza Strip. “Israel must ensure that the measures are fully implemented – and that the improvements are sustainable.”
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel had implemented several demands but others were still pending. It takes longer breaks in fighting to get help to the people. “But the best way to meet people’s needs is to end the war.”
Whether Washington is actually satisfied with Israel’s efforts remains unclear. In any case, the Biden administration appears unwilling to stand up to Israel in its final two months. Some observers interpreted the threatening letter from the White House primarily as an election campaign maneuver to mobilize Arab voters. It didn’t help Kamala Harris.
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