Israel fails to meet US aid demands to ease Gaza catastrophe, aid groups say

International aid groups said that Israel had failed to meet a series of US demands intended to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by a Tuesday deadline.

The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on October 13 that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days. If not, it could face potential restrictions on US military aid.

“Israel not only failed to meet the US criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza,” a group of eight aid groups including Oxfam, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council said in 19-page report.

Israel’s new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, appeared to downplay the deadline, telling reporters on Monday that he was confident “the issue would be solved.” The Biden administration may have less leverage after the re-election of Donald Trump, who was a staunch supporter of Israel in his first term.

Trump has promised to end the wars in the Middle East, without saying how. He was a staunch defender of Israel during his previous term, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says they have spoken three times since his re-election last week.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose role is mostly ceremonial, is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.