US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have said Israel must take steps next month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to news reports and sources, to avoid legal action related to US military aid.
“We write now to emphasize the U.S. government's deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and to ask your government to take urgent and sustained action this month to reverse this trajectory,” they wrote in an October 13 letter to their Israeli counterparts: published by Axios reporter at X on Tuesday.
A reporter from Israel's News 12 was the first to report the content of the letter on the X website.
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Reuters.
The State Department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letter. Israeli government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Washington has frequently pressed Israel to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza since the conflict with Hamas began a little over a year ago with attacks by the Palestinian militant group in southern Israel, but the Biden administration has not imposed limits on military aid sent by the United States to Israel.
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The reports come as Israeli forces expand operations into the northern Gaza Strip amid ongoing concerns about access to humanitarian aid across the enclave and civilians' access to food, water and medicine.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that food deliveries have fallen sharply since Israeli authorities introduced new customs rules on certain types of humanitarian aid and separately restricted deliveries organized by companies.
Last week, the United States told the UN Security Council that Israel must urgently address “catastrophic conditions” among Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip and stop “increasing suffering” by restricting aid supplies.
The secretaries' letter outlines specific steps Israel must take within 30 days, including allowing at least 350 trucks a day to enter Gaza, implementing pauses in fighting to allow for the delivery of aid, and lifting orders to evacuate Palestinian civilians when there is no need to do so. operational.
“Failure to demonstrate sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures could have consequences for U.S. policy… and relevant U.S. law,” the letter said.
She cited Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits military assistance to countries that obstruct the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid.
She also cited a national security memorandum issued by U.S. President Joe Biden in February that requires the State Department to report to Congress on whether it finds credible Israel's assurances that its use of U.S. weapons does not violate U.S. or international law.
U.S. officials earlier this year said Israel may have violated international humanitarian law by using U.S.-supplied weapons during its military operation in Gaza.
