US won’t halt any weapons to Israel over Gaza humanitarian aid situation

Eight international aid groups say that Israel has failed to meet US demands for greater humanitarian access to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where hunger experts say the north may already be experiencing famine.

However, the Biden administration said on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) it would not limit weapons transfers to Israel because its key ally had made good but limited progress in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

An Israeli army vehicle stands guard as a truck with gravel moves into the Gaza Strip, as seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border on November 11.Credit: Getty Images

Last month, Washington told Israel to boost aid to Gaza within 30 days, or else it could trigger US laws requiring it to scale back American military support as Israel wages war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that the progress to date must be supplemented and sustained, but that “we at this time have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of US law”. It requires recipients of military assistance to adhere to international humanitarian law and not impede the provision of such aid.

“We are not giving Israel a pass,” Patel said, adding, “we want to see the totality of the humanitarian situation improve.”

The United Nations said October had the lowest amount of aid entering Gaza this year, and the territory was receiving “nowhere near what we need to support more than 2 million Palestinians”.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that for a second month, the UN World Food Program was able to reach only half the people who relied on the United Nations for assistance, and only with reduced rations.

“We continue to call for the immediate opening of more land routes into Gaza and for the lifting of administrative and physical restrictions within Gaza to efficiently reach the most vulnerable people and areas,” Dujarric said.

Palestinians line up to receive aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees, in Nusairat refugee camp, Gaza.Credit: AP

Israeli strikes killed at least 46 people in Gaza in the past 24 hours and killed at least 33 people in Lebanon, local health officials said on Tuesday. Two people in northern Israel also died from rockets fired from Lebanon.

An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Mount Lebanon’s Chouf province killed at least 15 people, including eight women and four children, and wounded at least 12 others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.

The strike came without warning. Lebanese state media said the building was sheltering displaced families. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, and the target remains unclear.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. The Israel-Hamas war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1200 people – mostly civilians – and abducting 250 others.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. Since then, more than 3200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 14,200 wounded, the country’s Health Ministry reported.

AP

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