AP – The Biden administration is stepping up criticism of Israel for not doing enough to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller gave Israel a “fail” grade in terms of meeting the conditions for an improvement in aid deliveries to Gaza laid out in a letter last month to senior Israeli officials from United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
He said there were still roughly nine days until the deadline expires, but that limited progress so far has been insufficient.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around,” Miller told reporters.
“We have seen an increase in some measurements. But if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter – those have not been met.”
The Biden administration called out its close ally, with support for Israel a key issue for many voters and the humanitarian crisis for Palestinians also a factor for many in the race.
Former president Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris have been competing for Muslim and Arab American voters in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Among other conditions, Austin and Blinken’s letter from mid-October said that Israel must allow in a minimum of 350 trucks a day carrying desperately needed food and other supplies for Palestinians besieged by more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.
By the end of October, an average of just 71 trucks a day were entering Gaza, according to the latest United Nations (UN) figures.
“The results are not good enough today,” Miller said.
“They certainly do not have a pass. They have failed to implement all the things that we recommended. Now, that said, we are not at the end of the 30-day period,” he said
He would not say when asked what the US would do when the deadline comes up next week, just that “we will follow the law”.
