From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
US envoy said to hold frustrating meet with PM who rejected request to expand aid for Gaza
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The Biden administration’s envoy for the humanitarian situation in Gaza reportedly held a frustrating meeting today with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior military officials who rejected the US request to expand the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Satterfield sounded the alarm over what the US views as a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the Kan public broadcaster reports without citing any sources.
Netanyahu responded that, actually, there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, pointing to footage showing several open-air markets that are filled with people and supplies being sold.
Aid agencies note that such scenes are not proof of a stable humanitarian environment, adding that the entire population of the Strip “are in crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity.”
Netanyahu told Satterfield that the problem is not the amount of aid entering Gaza — 218 trucks today — but the manner in which it is being distributed.
While he has avoided admitting this publicly, Kan says Netanyahu told Satterfield that the aid entering Gaza is being diverted by Hamas, which is controlling its distribution and prioritizing aid for its fighters, leaving little for civilians.
The Times of Israel Community.