Blinken calls Dermer to discuss Gaza humanitarian situation, with 12 days left for Israel to drastically improve crisis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call earlier today with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer during which the pair reviewed the steps Israel has taken to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the top Biden aide urged further actions to surge aid to civilians in the Strip, according to a State Department readout.

The call comes 12 days before a deadline set by the US for Israel to drastically improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Dermer and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on October 13, warning that failure to address the humanitarian crisis within 30 days could have legal implications for continued US offensive weapons shipments to Israel because recipients of such aid are legally barred from blocking humanitarian assistance.

Israel says it is not blocking aid from civilians, but the past two months have seen the least amount of aid transferred into Gaza since the start of the war, with northern Gaza seeing particularly low amounts of aid reaching civilians there.

Blinken and Dermer also discussed necessary steps for broader regional de-escalation, including ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, the US readout says. They also discussed plans for the post-war management of Gaza.