The Biden administration has sent a letter to the Israeli government, listing several demands of the United States ally and suggesting that US military aid could be withheld if they aren’t met.
The letter was sent on Sunday and was jointly written by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. It was addressed to Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.
In it, Austin and Blinken demanded that Israel act to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within the next 30 days or otherwise risk violating US laws governing foreign military assistance.
The letter marks a major step in how the United States is responding to Israel’s actions in Gaza and its efforts to deliver humanitarian aid while pursuing the terror group Hamas.
Austin and Blinken wrote in the letter that the US has concerns about what is happening in Gaza, asking for “urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory.”
They continue to say that since the Spring, the amount of aid delivered to Gaza has dropped by more than 50%, with the amount delivered in September hitting “the lowest of any month during the past year.”
Among the demands laid out in the letter include Israel allowing at least 350 trucks a day to enter Gaza through its four major crossings, opening a fifth crossing, increasing security for humanitarian convoys, and implementing humanitarian pauses across Gaza to allow for humanitarian activities like vaccinations, aid distribution, and more. The efforts are expected to continue for at least the next four months.
The letter also says that under US law, the US State and Defense departments “must continually assess” Israel’s adherence to the stipulations and the assurances it made earlier this year to not restrict the flow of aid.
The US is also demanding that people in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone be allowed inside Gaza to move inland before winter.
Austin and Blinken close their letter by saying that discussions need to be had between the US and Israeli governments about “civilian harm incidents,” with a meeting scheduled for the end of the month.
The letter comes as Israel has intensified its military operations in northern Gaza and as the UN World Food Programme warned last weekend that its operations are having a “disastrous impact” on food security for Palestinian families.
“We are particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government – including halting commercial imports, denying or impeding nearly 90 percent 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 said in the letter.
It appears that Israel has already started following the requests in the letter, as the agency that manages policy for Palestinian territories, COGAT, shared photos of aid going into Gaza on social media.
“30 trucks entered northern Gaza through the Erez Crossing earlier today. Israel is not preventing the entry of humanitarian aid, with an emphasis on food, into Gaza,” COGAT said in a post on X. “Israel will continue to allow the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, while simultaneously destroying Hamas’ military and governance infrastructures.”