- By Kamal Kumar
- Tue, 15 Oct 2024 09:20 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
US' Biden administration asked Israel to act to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within the next 30 days, failing which could jeopardise the military help from Washington in accordance with the US laws governing foreign military assistance. The letter, jointly written on Sunday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, was addressed to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.
The letter followed apprehensions by the United Nations and members of the international community regarding the deepening humanitarian crisis in the war-ridden region of Gaza. It is being seen as an important step by the US government to push Israel to allow more humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The communique highlighted the US's concerns about the Gaza crisis and demanded “urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory.”
The letter further underlined that since the spring quantity of aid delivered to Gaza has dropped to 50% and in September the help received was "lowest of any month during the past year".
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇱Secretary of State Blinken & Secretary of Defense Austin sent a letter on Monday to Israel demanding it takes steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in order to avoid consequences in U.S. law for U.S. milirary aid to Israel. See letter here: pic.twitter.com/N9DDMqsL7u
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 15, 2024
“We are particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government – including halting commercial imports, denying or impeding nearly 90 per cent of humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza in September, continuing burdensome and excessive dual-use restrictions, and instituting new vetting and onerous liability and customs requirements for humanitarian staff and shipments – together with increased lawlessness and looting – are contributing to an accelerated deterioration in the conditions in Gaza,” Blinken and Austin write.
The letter followed a massive airstrike by IDF in Gaza which killed at least 28 people and injured over 60. The attack came last week on the Rafida school compound in the Deir el-Balah area of Gaza. The Israeli military on Thursday reported that it had targeted a Hamas command centre in the same area.