Israel said to believe US prepared to go ‘all the way’ with threats over Gaza aid crisis
Ahead of Wednesday deadline for increase of aid to enclave, US defense chief Austin reportedly gives ‘sharp’ message to new counterpart Katz that arms supply could be jeopardized
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reportedly conveyed a “sharp” message to his new Israeli counterpart Israel Katz during their first phone conversation on Friday, saying Israel risks jeopardizing the ongoing provision of US weaponry for the Gaza war if it does not credibly show that it has improved the supply and distribution of aid to Gazan noncombatants.
A Channel 12 report on Saturday noted that in mid-October, Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel in a letter that it had 30 days — until November 13 — to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza or jeopardize the continued supply of US weapons.
The drop in aid supplies, they warned at the time, called into question Israel’s commitment that it would not restrict the entry of aid into Gaza and that it is using US weapons in line with international law.
That written commitment was provided last March in order to ensure Israel’s compliance with a national security memorandum (NSM) issued by Biden in February. The memo applies to all recipients of US security assistance.
With the 30-day period set to expire on Wednesday, Austin, according to Saturday’s TV report, urged Katz on Friday to raise the issue before the cabinet and said Israel needed to maintain what Katz told him was a recent increase in aid;. He also stressed the need to ensure there is no harm to noncombatants in Gaza war.
Katz reportedly responded that Israel is trying to cooperate on the aid issue, but Hamas keeps stealing supplies and selling them for high prices. Israel wants to be sure it reaches the populace, Katz said, and is working with Arab states to help ensure this.
The TV report said Israel believes the US intends to go “all the way” in pressing Israel on this issue, rather than letting it slide because the Biden administration will be out of office in two months.
In practice, the report said, this means that if Washington is not convinced there has been a dramatic change for the better as regards aid delivery and distribution, there could be a “direct collision” on the issue of arms supplies.
In its readout of the Austin-Katz call, the US Defense Department noted that the secretary emphasized “the need to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.”
Israel has greatly improved aid access to Gaza in recent weeks, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week, including the opening of the Kissufim Border Crossing, which brings the number of crossing points into the Strip to five.
While Israel has made progress on the matter, Miller said there was more work to be done to meet the requirements posed in the October 13 letter.
“We have continued to press them, and we have seen them take additional steps,” Miller said, noting that the United States has also urged Israel to ensure that at least 350 aid trucks enter Gaza daily. On Tuesday, 229 trucks were allowed in, still below the target.
On Friday, the United Nations’ independent Famine Review Committee issued a rare warning that there was a “strong likelihood” of imminent famine in parts of north Gaza with immediate action required from the warring parties to ease a catastrophic situation.
The IDF rejected the FRC report, saying it relied on “partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests,” and claimed that it was facilitating full aid transfer efforts to all areas of the Gaza Strip.
The IDF said that since the war started in October of last year, over 39,000 trucks carrying more than 840,000 tons of food have entered Gaza, and meetings were taking place daily with the UN, which had 700 trucks of aid awaiting pickup and distribution.
The war in Gaza was sparked on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 42,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far. The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Emmanuel Fabien contributed to this report.
