Washington (TDI): Washington has given Israel a 30-day ultimatum to boost humanitarian aid access in Gaza; otherwise US military assistance will be cut off, partially.
The US has written to Israel, giving it 30 days to boost humanitarian aid access in Gaza, according to BBC.
It is considered as the strongest known written warning from the US to an ally, warned at a time fresh Israeli offensive in northern Gaza is going on causing heavy civilian casualties.
The letter reportedly written on Sunday says that the US has deep concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation. It also clearly said that Israel denied or impeded nearly 90% of humanitarian movements between the north and south last month.
Quoting an Israeli official the BBC report added that Israel is reviewing the letter, adding the country takes it (letter) seriously.
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Earlier, Israel was denying that targets civilians or stopping humanitarian assistance.
An Israeli military body responsible for managing crossings into Gaza, Cogat, the other day said 30 trucks carrying aid from the World Food Programme had entered northern Gaza through the Erez crossing.
Earlier, the UN had said assistance could be delivered to the north, and supplies essential for survival were running out for the 400,000 Palestinians there.
The US is the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, and the Israeli military has relied heavily on US-supplied aircraft, guided bombs, missiles and shells to fight the war in Gaza.
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Contents of the letter from the US to the Israeli government were confirmed by the state department. The letter, signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, was first reported by the Axios website.
Contents of the letter as published by BBC are as follow: “We are now writing to underscore the US government’s deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and seek urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory,” it says.
It states that Israeli evacuation orders have forced 1.7 million people into the narrow, coastal al-Mawasi area where they are at “high risk of lethal contagion” due to extreme overcrowding, and that humanitarian organisations report that their survival needs cannot be met.
“We are particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government – including halting commercial imports, denying or impeding nearly 90% 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,” it adds.
The letter says Israel “must, starting now and within 30 days” act on a series of concrete measures to boost aid supplies, adding that failure may “have implications for US policy”.
It cites US laws which can prohibit military assistance to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian aid.
It also calls on Israel to end the “isolation of northern Gaza” by reaffirming that there will be “no Israeli government policy of forced evacuation of civilians” from north to south.
The US state department spokesman, Matthew Miller, told reporters a day earlier that the letter was “a private diplomatic communication that we did not intend to make public”.
