Israeli officials were examining an unusually tough letter from the U.S. government on Wednesday that threatened to review military aid to the U.S. government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu If this continues to impede access to essential aid Gaza Strip.
While the State and Defense departments are assured that, according to an Israeli official, the US's close ally and recipient of $17.9 billion in US military aid this year is taking concerns seriously Americans, the question remains: is the US capable and willing? To force Israel to hand over its operations in the devastated Palestinian enclave?
“The reason we have not received adequate levels of humanitarian assistance throughout this period is because there have not been consistent consequences for not meeting these standards,” said Andrew Miller, former assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs. State Department, which called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “a catastrophe”.
Lengthy letters from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin were published Axis On Tuesday, the Israeli government suggested that the United States would restrict arms sales unless new concessions were made. Humanitarian aid in Gaza.
NBC News has not seen an original copy of the letter, dated Sunday, demanding that Israel take action within 30 days, including allowing a minimum of 350 trucks a day into Gaza, suspending humanitarian aid for the war and canceling transfers. non-essential civilians. order
On Wednesday, 50 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment, were allowed to enter, according to COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry unit responsible for civilian policy in Gaza. Northern part of Gaza, however, did not indicate where this aid was distributed.
People involved in distributing aid in Gaza told NBC News that several trucks entered Gaza City north of the enclave, but that aid was not distributed elsewhere. NBC News is not releasing their names for security reasons.
However, Scott Anderson, director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Gaza, told a UN press conference in New York on Wednesday that his agency had “great difficulty” getting aid to people in the north. of the enclave. Since September 30, he said, “only 12 trucks of food have reached people” through the Erez border crossing in northern Gaza.
While the United Nations only counts its own trucks, Israel includes commercial vehicles in its count.
before that terrorist attack on October 7 by Hamas that killed around 1,200 people and left around 250 hostages, with a total of around 500 trucks entering Gaza every day, according to the British Red Cross.
Over the past year, 90% of Gaza's population has been internally displaced and more than 42,000 people have been killed, according to data from Gaza's government health authority. The enclave's infrastructure and basic services were almost completely destroyed, leading to the spread of deadly diseases such as polio and the threat of famine for the population.
Isn't it threatened?
White House national security spokesman John Kirby insisted Tuesday that Austin and Blinken's letter was “not a threat.”
Sending this kind of message is something “you can do with your ally,” he said, adding, “It’s not the first time we’ve communicated with Israel, but we hope we don’t have to communicate this again.”
Charles Hollis, a former British diplomat to Saudi Arabia and Iran, said the letter was something of an ultimatum.
“There is diplomatic discourse and there is real conversation. It’s a kind of threat, however you want to describe it,” he said.
This is not the first time the Biden administration has tried this tactic with the Israeli government. In a phone call with Netanyahu in April, Biden threatened to support Israel's invasion of Gaza on the condition that it take strong action to protect aid workers and civilians.
The State Department said in April that US pressure on Israel had worked and that humanitarian aid had increased. The government hopes to see the same result this time too.
This week's letter, addressed to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, expressed US concern that the Israeli government's actions have contributed to the rapid deterioration of conditions in Gaza, where Children this week began receiving a second round of polio vaccinations.
This comes as the Israeli military continues to fight on two fronts against Iranian-backed militants Hamas in Gaza. Hezbollah in LebanonAt least six people were killed in an airstrike in the southern city of Nabati on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The shooting comes despite the US expressing concerns to the Netanyahu administration about the attack on the country.
