The United States government sent a formal diplomatic letter to Israel warning that if humanitarian conditions in Gaza do not improve, and if aid flows are stepped up over the coming month, Israel could be found to be in violation of U.S. rules governing foreign military financing and could jeopardize the military assistance it receives. The administration has set a 30-day deadline for Israel to unlock humanitarian operations and increase the entry of aid.
The White House confirmed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent the letter to their Israeli counterparts, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
Within the letter, the United States conveyed deep concern that aid delivered to Gaza has fallen by more than half, and that the aid delivered in September was the lowest monthly total observed in the past year.
Urgent Actions
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Therefore, it demanded urgent and sustained actions to reverse the trend and warned that the State and Defense Departments must continually assess Israel’s compliance with the guarantees the country gave earlier this year to avoid restricting aid. White House officials emphasized that the assessment is ongoing and tied to commitments made to keep aid flowing.
According to U.S. officials, Israel should permit at least 350 trucks per day to enter Gaza through the four main crossings, open a fifth crossing, and implement humanitarian pauses in Gaza over the coming month as needed. Israel should also take steps to ensure that Jordanian military corridors operate at full and continuous capacity.
Blinken and Austin stated that they are concerned about recent moves by the Israeli government, including the suspension of commercial imports and the near 90 percent denial or impediment of humanitarian movements between the north and south Gaza in September. They underscored that access must improve significantly to meet urgent humanitarian needs.
Corridor through Jordan
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The letter aligns with communications President Joe Biden has already held with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he spoke last Wednesday and to whom he urged allowing aid into Gaza via a corridor through Jordan.
Biden and his team are deeply concerned by the limited amount of aid entering Gaza in recent weeks, and for that reason they decided to dispatch the letter to Israeli authorities, White House spokesperson John Kirby said. He noted there is a pronounced sense of urgency to deliver relief to the Palestinian enclave as soon as possible.
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John Kirby stressed that humanitarian needs in Gaza require immediate, verifiable actions from Israeli authorities and ongoing monitoring under U.S. law to prevent further harm to civilians in the enclave.