Aid groups say Israel misses US deadline to boost humanitarian help for Gaza

Jerusalem, Nov. 13: 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.

The Biden administration last month called on Israel to "surge" more food and other emergency aid into the Palestinian territory, giving it a 30-day deadline that expires Tuesday. The administration 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.

Israel has announced a series of steps toward improving the situation. But U.S. officials recently signalled that Israel still isn't doing enough, though they haven't said if they will take any action.

Israel's new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, appeared to downplay the deadline, telling reporters on Monday that he was confident "the issue would be solved." The Biden administration may have less leverage after the re-election of Donald Trump, who was a staunch supporter of Israel in his first term.

Tuesday's report, authored by eight international aid organizations, listed 19 measures of compliance with the U.S. demands. It said that Israel had failed to comply with 15 and only partially complied with four.

An Oct. 13 letter signed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Israel to, among other things, allow a minimum of 350 truckloads of goods to enter Gaza each day; open a fifth crossing into the besieged territory; allow people in Israeli-imposed coastal tent camps to move inland before the winter; and ensure access for aid groups to hard-hit northern Gaza. It also called on Israel to halt legislation that would hinder the operations of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.

After the report was published, the Israeli military announced the opening of a fifth crossing Tuesday close to the city of Deir al Balah in Gaza. It will allow for the delivery of supplies to the territory's central and southern regions.

Despite Israeli steps to increase the flow of aid, levels remain far below the U.S. benchmarks. Residents are also still crammed in tent camps, access for aid workers to northern Gaza remains restricted, and Israel has pressed ahead with its laws against UNRWA. "Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza," the report said. "That situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago."

The report was co-signed by Anera, Care, MedGlobal, Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees International and Save the Children.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week that Israel had made some progress, but needs to do more to meet the U.S. conditions.

"What's important when you see all of these steps taken is what that means for the results," he said. (AP)