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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called for Israel to take further steps to improve relief access to Gaza, including holding extended pauses in fighting, after Washington concluded that Israel was not obstructing aid despite criticism from humanitarian organisations.
A 30-day deadline set by the US for Israel to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza expired on Tuesday. Following this, the State Department determined that Israel was not blocking aid flow and therefore not in breach of US law. However, eight international aid organisations argued that Israel had failed to meet US demands to ease assistance access, with food security experts warning of potential famine in parts of Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Blinken said Israel had made some efforts to improve aid access, but these needed to be consistent to achieve results. Blinken also called on Israel to revoke evacuation orders so that displaced residents could return home and resume commercial truck deliveries into Gaza.
“In my judgement, perhaps most significantly, we need to see real and extended pauses across large areas of Gaza… so that aid can effectively reach those who need it,” he remarked.
Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a letter to Israel, setting a deadline of 13 November to meet US requirements for permitting humanitarian assistance, warning that failure could risk a cut to military aid. “The intent was to inject a sense of urgency with Israel to take necessary steps to address the dire humanitarian situation,” Blinken stated on Wednesday.
Since then, Israel has begun implementing 12 of the 15 recommended measures, but Blinken noted that “three major issues” remain unresolved. One is establishing extended pauses in the conflict.
The other two involve allowing commercial trucks to enter Palestinian territories and rescinding evacuation orders, enabling civilians to return to areas once Israeli operations are completed, he explained.
“While we believe it is time to end the conflict, we must, in the meantime, ensure these humanitarian actions are fully carried out,” Blinken said.
President Joe Biden, who is set to leave office in January, has supported Israel since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and resulted in 250 hostages. Since then, Israeli operations in Gaza have led to over 43,500 Palestinian deaths, primarily civilians, with 2 million people displaced and widespread destruction across the region.
Donald Trump, who will succeed Biden and has been a firm supporter of Israel, has promised to bring peace to the Middle East without detailing his approach. He has strongly supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s objective of dismantling Hamas.
Blinken stated that Israel had achieved its primary objectives by eliminating Hamas’s leadership and limiting its capacity to launch further large-scale attacks. “This should be the time to end the war,” he said.
Although Hamas has not been involved in discussions to end the conflict, Blinken stressed the need for a future plan for Gaza, which he has been consulting on with regional leaders.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
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