The Biden administration is less definitive, saying Tuesday that the steps Israel has taken are welcome, although not enough to make a dramatic improvement.
By Julia Frankel and Samy Magdy, Associated PressFILE - Palestinians line up for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Oct. 17, 2024.
Blinken “further reiterated the importance that Israel take every possible step to minimize civilian harm,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. 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.”
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.
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. U.N. agencies say even less actually gets through because of Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and lawlessness that makes it difficult to collect and distribute aid on the Gaza side.
COGAT blamed the drop in October on closures of the crossings for the Jewish high holidays and memorials marking the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the war.
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