US not limiting military assistance to Israel, but may act later

The United States is not limiting military aid to Israel given that the IDF has taken steps to improve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.

“When it comes to humanitarian assistance, we have seen some steps being taken,” Patel said as the 30-day deadline, whereby Israel had to meet certain requirements in Gaza to avoid the triggering of a mechanism by which military aid would be limited, passed.

Washington warned Israel last month that military aid could be limited until progress was made. It did so based on Memorandum 20, which links such aid to humanitarian action.

Patel spoke just days after the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) of experts assessed that there was a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas” of the northern Gaza Strip.

“Immediate action, within days, not weeks, is required from all actors who are directly taking part in the conflict, or have an influence on its conduct, to avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation,” the FRC said in a rare alert.

Israel is not off the hook 

On Tuesday, however, Patel declared that enough progress had been made so that Israel would avoid, for the moment, any restrictions on aid.

He stressed that this did not let Israel off the hook and that US President Joe Biden’s administration would be closely monitoring the situation to ensure that additional measures were taken.

“There need to be some additional steps that are also taken, but most importantly, we need to see these kinds of efforts sustained over a long period of time,” Patel said.“If we do not see consistent progress, we will enforce US law, and we will make sure we are doing so appropriately,” he added.

With less than three months left to Biden’s term, concern is high that his administration no longer has the clout needed to pressure Israel on Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken went over US expectations on the prevention of starvation in Gaza when he met Monday in Washington with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

“The secretary emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement... including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza,” the US State Department said.

“The secretary further reiterated the importance that Israel takes every possible step to minimize civilian harm,” it added.

At United Nations headquarters in New York, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, underscored that much more aid was needed.

“As we have said repeatedly, the level of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza is nowhere near what we need to support more than two million Palestinians inside Gaza. 

“Many of those people, as you know, are hungry and sick and desperately need assistance. 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,” he said.

“October,” he said, “saw the lowest amount of aid entering Gaza this year.”