On Tuesday, the Biden administration acknowledged that Israel has made some progress in getting humanitarian aid into Gaza, but it’s still pretty limited.
They also decided not to restrict arms transfers to Israel, which they had hinted at a month ago if things didn’t improve. Relief organizations are saying that conditions in Gaza are worse now than at any time during the 13-month conflict.
State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters that while there’s been some progress, it needs to be built upon and maintained.
However, he mentioned they haven’t found any evidence that Israel is breaking U.S. laws regarding military aid and international humanitarian standards.
Patel emphasized that they’re not letting Israel off the hook; the steps taken so far just haven’t made a big enough impact yet.
They really want to see an overall improvement in the humanitarian situation and believe some of these actions could help make that happen.
This decision from the U.S., which is Israel’s main ally and biggest arms supplier, comes even though international aid groups have stated that Israel hasn’t met U.S. expectations for increasing humanitarian access to Gaza.
Experts on hunger are warning that northern Gaza might already be facing famine conditions.
Last month, the Biden administration set a deadline for Israel to ramp up food and emergency aid deliveries into Palestinian territories by Tuesday or risk reduced military support while they continue their operations against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
This week highlighted just how challenging aid distribution can be: even when Israeli forces allowed a delivery to northern Gaza—an area that’s been cut off from food for over a month—the United Nations reported it couldn’t get most of it through due to chaos and restrictions imposed by Israeli troops on-site.
Israel reveals measures to provide assistance.
In the southern region, tons of aid are just sitting on the Gaza side of the border because the U.N. can’t get to it for distribution due to fears of chaos, theft, and restrictions imposed by the Israeli military.
On Tuesday, many people lined up for hours in Khan Younis to collect food packages from U.N. agencies. Salim Abu Mansi expressed a common sentiment: We hope the world sees our suffering and feels for us. Life is tough here, and things just keep getting worse.
Recently, a new crossing was opened in central Gaza near Deir al-Balah to allow aid in, along with a slight increase in the coastal humanitarian zone where countless Palestinians are living in tents.
They even connected electricity to a desalination plant there, but it’s hard to tell how much difference that will make.
Meanwhile, Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar seemed pretty relaxed about any deadlines when he spoke with reporters on Monday; he believes everything will work out fine.
With Donald Trump winning back the presidency as a strong Israel supporter, it looks like the Biden administration might have less influence now.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a meeting with Ron Dermer, one of Netanyahu’s top aides, discussing what steps Israel has taken so far and emphasizing that these changes need to genuinely improve life for people in Gaza.
On Tuesday at the White House, President Joe Biden met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog; however, they didn’t address the aid situation publicly.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reassured everyone that they’re aware of how dire things are and will continue conversations with Israel about what more needs to be done.
According to aid organizations, Israel does not meet the standards set by the United States.
A report from eight international organizations has highlighted that the country’s actions have significantly worsened conditions, especially in Northern Gaza.
The situation there is actually worse now than it was a month ago. According to the report, which was backed by groups like Anera, Care, MedGlobal, Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees International, and Save the Children, Israel has not met 15 out of 19 U.S. demands and only partially complied with four.
In a letter dated October 13th, the U.S. gave Israel a 30-day deadline to meet several key requirements: allowing at least 350 truckloads of goods into Gaza daily; opening up a fifth crossing; enabling those in coastal tent camps to move inland before winter sets in; and ensuring that aid organizations can access northern Gaza.
The letter also urged Israel to stop any legislation that could impede the operations of UNRWA—the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
Unfortunately, aid levels are still falling short of what the U.S. expects. Access to northern Gaza is still limited, and Israel continues to push forward with laws affecting UNRWA’s work.
Last month saw Israel launching a significant offensive in the north due to claims that Hamas militants had regrouped there—this operation has resulted in hundreds of deaths and displaced tens of thousands of people.
Limited assistance reaching northern Gaza
From October through early November, Israel didn’t let any food into the region, where many civilians remained despite being told to evacuate.
Last week, they permitted 11 trucks to deliver supplies to Beit Hanoun, one of the towns in the north that suffered the most damage. However, according to the World Food Organization (WFP), soldiers at a checkpoint made their trucks unload before they could reach shelters.
The Israeli military body responsible for humanitarian aid in Gaza, known as COGAT, announced on Tuesday that it had allowed a new shipment of food and water to Beit Hanoun a day earlier.
The WFP attempted to send 14 trucks but only three made it due to delays in getting movement approval and crowds along the route. When they tried again on Tuesday, Israel denied them permission for the remaining trucks.
In October, overall aid into Gaza dropped significantly; only 34,000 tons of food were delivered—just one-third of what came in during September, based on Israeli statistics. U.N. agencies report that even fewer supplies actually reach those in need because of Israeli restrictions and ongoing violence that complicate aid collection and distribution within Gaza.
On average, 57 trucks entered Gaza each day in October and about 75 daily so far this month according to official Israeli figures; however, the U.N. states it has received only about 39 trucks daily since early October.
COGAT mentioned that there are currently around 900 truckloads of uncollected aid waiting at the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.
They suggested that instead of assigning grades for performance like some organizations do, focus should be placed on distributing the aid that’s already available.
Louise Wateridge from UNRWA pointed out that there hasn’t been proper coordination from the military for aid truck movements to access these piled-up supplies; without safe passage for collection efforts, she stressed that assistance won’t reach those who desperately need it.
The conflict began when Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7th this year, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths—mostly civilians—and around 250 people taken hostage; reports indicate about a third of those hostages might have died while still inside Gaza.
Meanwhile, over 43,000 Palestinians have reportedly lost their lives due to Israeli bombings and ground operations since then—local health authorities say more than half are women and children but don’t specify how many were militants.
Around 90% of Gaza’s population—about 2.3 million people—has been displaced with many crammed into makeshift tent camps lacking adequate food or clean water facilities.
The United States has quickly sent billions in military support to Israel during this conflict while urging more humanitarian aid access into Gaza as well.
Trump has expressed intentions to end Middle Eastern conflicts without detailing his plans while Netanyahu mentioned they’ve spoken three times since Trump’s recent victory in the presidential election last week.