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Israel misses deadline to boost humanitarian aid entering Gaza, aid groups say


By JULIA FRANKEL and SAMY MAGDY

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has failed to meet U.S. demands to allow greater humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, where conditions are worse than at any point in the 13-month-old war, international aid organizations said Tuesday.

In Washington, however, the Biden administration was less definitive, saying Tuesday that the steps Israel has taken are welcome although not enough to make a dramatic improvement.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed in a Monday meeting with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer “the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza,” the State Department said.

Blinken “further reiterated the importance that Israel take every possible step to minimize civilian harm,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The Biden administration last month set a deadline expiring Tuesday for Israel to “surge” more food and other emergency aid into the Palestinian territory. It warned that failure to comply could trigger U.S. laws requiring it to scale back military support as Israel wages offensives against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The obstacles facing aid distribution were on this display this week. Even after the military gave permission for a delivery to the northernmost part of Gaza — virtually cut off from food for more than a month by an Israeli siege — the United Nations said it couldn’t deliver most of it because of turmoil and restrictions from Israeli troops on the ground.

Hunger experts have warned the north may already be experiencing famine.

Meanwhile, in the south, hundreds of truckloads of aid are sitting on the Gaza side of the border because the U.N. says it cannot reach them to distribute the aid — again because of the threat of lawlessness, theft and Israeli military restrictions.

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Israel has announced a series of steps — though their effect was unclear. On Tuesday, it opened a new crossing in central Gaza, outside the city of Deir al-Balah, for aid to enter. It also announced a small expansion of its coastal “humanitarian zone,” where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in tent camps. It connected electricity for a desalination plant in Deir al-Balah.

U.S. officials haven’t said whether they will take any action. President Joe Biden met Tuesday at the White House with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who said a “major objective” for the U.S. should be reining in Iran and its proxies. Herzog also called for the return of the hostages taken from Israel in the Hamas attack that started the war, to which Biden said, “I agree.”

A day earlier, Israel’s new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, appeared to downplay the deadline, telling reporters that he was confident “the issue would be solved.” The Biden administration may have less leverage after Donald Trump won the presidential election — he was a staunch supporter of Israel in his first term.

Eight international aid organization said in their report Tuesday that “Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria” but also took actions “that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza. … That situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago.”

The report listed 19 measures of compliance with the U.S. demands. It said Israel had failed to comply with 15 and only partially complied with four. The report was co-signed by Anera, Care, MedGlobal, Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees International and Save the Children.

In an Oct. 13 letter, the U.S. gave Israel 30 days to, among other things, allow a minimum of 350 truckloads of goods into Gaza each day; open a fifth crossing; allow people in coastal tent camps to move inland before the winter; and ensure access for aid groups to northern Gaza. It also called on Israel to halt legislation that would hinder operations of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.

Aid levels remain far below the U.S. benchmarks. Access to northern Gaza remains restricted, and Israel has pressed ahead with its laws against UNRWA.

Israel launched a major offensive last month in the north, where it says Hamas had regrouped. The operation has killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands.

Through October and the first days of November, Israel allowed no food to enter the area, where tens of thousands of civilians have stayed despite evacuation orders.



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