US claims Israel 'not violating law' on Gaza aid, despite criticism from NGOs

The United States said on Tuesday that Israel was not violating US law on the level of aid entering Gaza, despite failing to meet the objectives set by Washington to improve the flow of humanitarian relief into the war-hit enclave.

The US has called for further progress, a month after outgoing President Joe Biden's administration threatened to withhold some military support.

Israel had announced the opening of an additional aid crossing into Gaza, just hours before the deadline set by outgoing President Joe Biden's administration to improve the humanitarian conditions in Gaza or risk a cut to military assistance.

Gaza has been in the grips of a dire humanitarian crisis since the outbreak of war on October 7 last year, which has killed at least 43,665 Palestinians.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter last month to Israel voicing alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and setting a deadline of November 13 to comply with US law on permitting humanitarian assistance.

Asked if Israel had met the demands, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said of Israel, "We have not made an assessment that they are in violation of US law."

Ron Dermer, a top advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, personally updated Blinken on Israel's efforts in a meeting Monday in Washington, the State Department said.

"The overall humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be unsatisfactory," Patel said.

"But in the context of the letter, it's not about whether we find something satisfactory or not; it's what are the actions that we're seeing."

"These actions that we have seen, we think that these are steps in the right direction," he said.

"We want to see more steps. We want to see these steps sustained over a significant period of time, and ultimately, we want to see these steps have a result on the situation."

The finding comes despite Israel not meeting a series of metrics set explicitly in the letter, including allowing a minimum of 350 trucks per day into Gaza.

Patel said that the United States has seen "some progress" on allowing in assistance, including the opening of new crossings into Gaza.

Israel has been accused by leading rights groups and NGOs over the year for deliberately blocking aid entry to the Gaza Strip, contributing vastly to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

UN agencies have also warned of a looming famine in northern Gaza, which has been under a siege for over a month. Almost 2,000 Palestinians have been killed there since early October, while aid and other necessities have not entered the area for over 50 days.

"After this 30-day period is up, we are constantly assessing and evaluating, and if we do not see consistent progress, if we do not see the results on the ground, then we will, of course, make appropriate assessments about their compliance with international law," he said.

The administration, however, has only about nine weeks left in office and President-elect Donald Trump has promised to give freer rein to Israel.

Biden has repeatedly voiced alarm over Israeli treatment of civilians but has also mostly declined to exercise US leverage by stopping the flow of weapons.

Aid at 'lowest level'

On the eve of the deadline, Israel's military said it opened the Kissufim crossing "as part of the effort and commitment to increase the volume and routes of aid".

But the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and eight humanitarian groups said Israel was still not doing enough.

The eight organisations including Oxfam and Save The Children said: "The humanitarian situation in Gaza is now at its worst point since the war began in October 2023."

A top UN official on Tuesday condemned the "daily cruelty" in Gaza, describing "acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes."

"What distinction was made, and what precautions were taken, if more than 70 percent of civilian housing is either damaged or destroyed?" Joyce Msuya, interim chief of the OCHA humanitarian agency, told the UN Security Council.

"We are witnessing acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes."

Asked about whether there were signs the situation had improved ahead of the US deadline, Louise Wateridge, an UNRWA emergencies officer, said "aid entering the Gaza Strip is at its lowest level in months".