US warns Israel it may withhold military aid unless Gaza humanitarian assistance improves

Washington DC - The US warned on the possibility of withholding some assistance barring improvements in aid delivery to Palestinians in Gaza, the State Department said Tuesday.

The US warned Israel on the possibility of withholding some assistance barring improvements in aid delivery to Palestinians in Gaza, the State Department said Tuesday. © Bashar TALEB / AFP

In a letter sent Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made "clear to the government of Israel that there are changes that they need to make again to see that the level of assistance making it into Gaza comes back up from the very, very low levels that it is at today," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

The letter pointed to US law that requires that "recipients of US military assistance do not arbitrarily deny or impede the provisioning of ."

"Our hope is that Israel will make changes that we have outlined and that we have recommended, and as a result of those changes will be a dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance."

The letter, weeks before a US election, comes a year into Israel's brutal assault on Gaza in which President has repeatedly voiced concern about the and high civilian casualties but only once is known to have blocked a shipment in the billions of dollars of US aid to Israel.

Miller denied any link to the US election. The letter called for action within 30 days, which would fall after voting ends.

2/ The Sunday letter, jointly written by US Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin, is addressed to Israeli Minister of Defense Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Dermer. It marks a significant new step by the US to try to compel Israel to facilitate…

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 15, 2024

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows dire amid Israel's assault

"We didn't think it was appropriate to send a letter and just say this has to happen overnight," Miller said.

He pointed to Israel sending assistance through the Erez crossing into Gaza on Monday, a day after Blinken sent the letter.

WFP has been in #Gaza since day one, providing life-saving food assistance despite major operational challenges.

One year into the war, aid crossing into the strip has reached its lowest level in months.

WFP's Country Director calls for improved access & increased aid flow. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/JmjZJfbRFj

— World Food Programme (@WFP) October 4, 2024

"We very much want to see changes not wait for 30 days but happen immediately," he said.