Israeli officials have described the threat from Washington to curb missile supplies if aid to Gaza is not increased as “the harshest letter the United States has sent to Israel in decades”.
In what appeared to be an immediate response Israel announced on Wednesday that 50 trucks containing humanitarian aid including food, water, medical equipment and equipment for shelters from Jordan passed through the Erez crossing into the northern Gaza Strip and declared that measures “will continue to facilitate and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza”.
The letter from US secretary of state Antony Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin warned Israel it had one month to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza or jeopardise the continued supply of US weapons, noting that humanitarian assistance entering the strip had plummeted in recent months.
The one-month deadline will fall conveniently after the November 5th US election, enabling the administration to avoid a potentially embarrassing showdown with a key ally ahead of the vote.
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The letter followed similar warnings, earlier this week, from vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who said: “The UN reports that no food has entered northern Gaza in nearly two weeks. Israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need. Civilians must be protected and must have access to food, water, and medicine. International humanitarian law must be respected.”
According to Israeli officials there has been no substantial change in Israel’s policy regarding humanitarian aid to Gaza, even though Israel has removed the private sector from the distribution of aid and closed crossings in northern Gaza, leading to a significant reduction in the number of aid trucks entering the war-torn enclave.
Earlier this month Israeli troops launched an offensive against Jabaliya, north of Gaza city, claiming that Hamas militants were trying to reassert their presence in the area. Residents of Jabaliya and the close-by towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya were ordered to leave their homes and head to designated “humanitarian zones” in the southern Gaza Strip. Some did but many chose to stay put despite the fighting.
Washington fears that Israel is planning to starve Gaza, in line with the so-called “Generals’ Plan” proposed by retired Israel Defense Forces major general Giora Eiland and other retired generals, which called for isolating northern Gaza, limiting humanitarian assistance and forcing the residents southwards, all in an effort to exert pressure on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to accept a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israel denied that the Jabaliya operation is an effort to implement the generals’ plan although a number of soldiers serving in the area told the Ha’aretz newspaper that this is what is happening on the ground.
The US is by far the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, and Washington’s ongoing airlift has enabled Israel to fight in Gaza for the last year and now on a second front in south Lebanon.
According to foreign reports this week, the Israeli military is encountering a potential shortage of rocket and missile interceptors. Ahead of an expected Israeli strike against Iran the US military is deploying its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence missile system in Israel to counter a possible counter strike from Tehran.
Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of Unrwa, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, warned on Wednesday the plight of the agency was dire. “I will not hide the fact that we might reach a point that we won’t be able any more to operate. We are very near to a possible breaking point.”
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