By Humeyra Pamuk
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that Israel has so far taken insufficient steps to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, and he asked it to work to improve the situation, a senior State Department official said.
Blinken held “extended conversations” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli leaders, who committed to act upon the U.S. requests, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The top U.S. diplomat is in Israel as part of a wider week-long Middle East tour. An Israeli readout on the meeting did not mention humanitarian issues.
This month, Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote a letter to Israeli leaders, demanding they take more take steps in the next month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on U.S. military aid. It was one of the strongest such warnings since Israel’s war with Hamas began a year ago.
“The steps that they have taken thus far have not been sufficient and we made that clear today that we do need to see more,” the official said.
“They committed to us that they are acting upon our requests and doing everything that they can to meet them. We take those commitments seriously but it is the results that matter,” the official said.
The assurances that the U.S. official mentioned were absent in an Israeli statement on the Blinken-Netanyahu meeting. A State Department readout on the meeting said Blinken emphasized the need for Israel to boost humanitarian aid, while the Israeli readout did not mention humanitarian issues at all.
The amount of aid entering Gaza has plummeted to its lowest level all year, according to U.N. data. In addition, the U.N. has said Israel has been denying and impeding dozens of attempts this month to deliver aid, particularly to Gaza’s north.
“GENERALS’ PLAN”
Israelis also told Blinken it was not Israel’s policy to use siege tactics against Hamas in northern Gaza. A so-called “generals plan”, published by retired military commanders and floated by some parliament members this month, suggests Palestinian civilians would be instructed to evacuate northern Gaza, which would then be declared a closed military zone.
“They said it’s absolutely not our policy…We said, okay, then you should go to greater lengths to say that publicly. Not going to say that they will do that by any means but we did hear a very clear commitment that is not their stated policy,” the official said.
More than two weeks ago, Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza, especially inside Jabalia, the largest of the enclave’s eight historic camps. Its declared aim was to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping.
Residents said Israeli forces had besieged hospitals, schools, and other shelters housing displaced families and ordered them to leave and head south. The residents said forces detained dozens of men.
The Israeli military denies the evacuations are part of a wider plan, saying it is moving people to separate them from Hamas fighters.
The overall death toll in Gaza is approaching 43,000, according to the latest health ministry figures, and most of the 2.3 million population is displaced, many in makeshift shelters.
The Israeli offensive was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken as hostages back into Gaza.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by David Gregorio)
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