US says Gaza aid situation not much improved as deadline looms

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on November 4th that Israel had made insufficient efforts to provide aid to Gaza, according to the Arab News via Reuters.

Miller stated that although Israel had taken measures to increase aid access, it had failed to significantly transform the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The Biden administration told Israel on October 13th that it had 30 days to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

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“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around. We have seen an increase in some measurements. We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met,” Miller said.

Miller added that the results so far were “not good enough” but stressed that the 30-day period had not yet finished. He declined to say what consequences Israel would face if it failed to meet expectations. “What I can tell you that we will do is we will follow the law,” he said.

The October 13th letter sent by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin state that a failure to demonstrate a commitment to increasing aid access could have implications for US policy and law, including a potential halt to arms transfers, as reported by The Guardian.

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Meanwhile, a review of Israeli statistics by Reuters last week showed that aid shipments allowed into Gaza in October remained at their lowest levels since October 2023, and aid workers and UN officials say humanitarian conditions remain dire.

Reuters, The Guardian