Last month, the Biden administration gave Israel a 30-day deadline to increase aid flow to Gaza, or the U.S. would potentially cut military assistance. On Tuesday, that deadline came and went without Israel facing any consequences.
Aid groups including Oxfam, Mercy Corps, and Save the Children issued a statement Tuesday saying Israel failed to meet any of the conditions that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out in an October 13 letter to Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. These include increased civilian access to food and other necessities.
“Israel’s actions failed to meet any of the specific criteria set out in the U.S. letter,” the statement read. “Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. 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.”
In a press briefing on Tuesday, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said, “I certainly don’t have a change in U.S. policy to announce today.”
“We have seen some steps being taken. There need to be some additional steps that are also taken,” Patel added. “There is nobody in this administration saying that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is pristine.… It continues to be a crisis.”
Surprise, surprise. No consequences for Israel failing to address humanitarian crisis of its own making in Gaza after 30 days.Matt Lee: You guys are the ones that gave them a 30-day deadline, it’s hard to see your answers as anything other than giving them a passPatel: If we… pic.twitter.com/acghgCm6yX
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) November 12, 2024
On Tuesday, Israel announced that it was opening a new crossing into Gaza, meeting one demand in the October 13 letter, but there were no indications that any aid had traveled through it. At least 44,383 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s brutal war on the territory since October 7, 2023, including more than 16,765 children.
A July study from the medical journal The Lancet estimates that the actual death toll could exceed 186,000, taking into account thousands of bodies trapped under rubble, and indirect deaths due to the destruction of infrastructure including hospitals and food distribution systems. Last month, 99 health workers who worked in Gaza sent President Biden a letter saying that they had “witnessed crimes beyond comprehension,” urging a U.S. arms embargo to Israel.
Those pleas appear to have fallen on deaf ears in the Biden administration and the State Department, following a pattern where expert advice on Gaza has been ignored by top U.S. officials. During the 2024 election campaign, any potential changes in policy towards Israel and Palestine were dismissed by Kamala Harris’s campaign, a factor that likely contributed to her loss.
Donald Trump’s incoming administration is bringing in hawks who support Israel’s further killing and destruction, including Representative Elise Stefanik as the new ambassador to the United Nations and former Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel. In his last few months as president, Joe Biden has a chance to not only negotiate an end to the war, but save lives, and he seems to be passing it up.
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