Israel fails to meet US aid demands to ease Gaza catastrophe, aid groups say

Israel failed to meet a series of US demands intended to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by a deadline set for today, aid groups have said according to Reuters.

The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on 13 October that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days. If not, it could face potential restrictions on US military aid.

“Israel not only failed to meet the US criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza,” a group of eight aid groups including Oxfam, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council said in 19-page report.

For more than a month, Israeli forces have been pushing deeper into north Gaza, surrounding hospitals and shelters and creating fresh waves of displacement.

On Friday, global food security experts released a rare warning of imminent famine in parts of northern Gaza unless immediate steps were taken to ease the situation.

Israel says measures, including the opening of a new crossing into Gaza, have been implemented, however others pertain to its security and have not been put in place.

Washington has not yet commented on whether its conditions have been met. Last week, the State Department said Israel had taken some measures to increase aid access to Gaza but had so far failed to significantly turn around the humanitarian situation.

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