The U.S. will not change its policy on arms transfers to
Israel
even though the humanitarian situation in
the Gaza Strip
remains dire, the State Department said Tuesday, the deadline the White House set for Israel to ramp up access to aid in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters the decision came as “Israel has taken a number of steps” outlined in a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli counterparts last month. “We continue to be in discussion with Israel about the steps they took and other steps they need to take,” he said.
An average of just over 30 trucks a day have been let into Gaza in recent weeks, representing “just over six percent of the daily needs,” according to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
“What is being allowed into Gaza is not enough,” he
wrote in a post on X
on Friday.
Before Israel launched its offensive in Gaza, around 500 trucks entered the enclave each day, according to the British Red Cross.
Tuesday’s
deadline
was set by Washington for Israel to meet a host of requirements aimed at boosting aid into Gaza or face restrictions on U.S. military assistance, as required under U.S. law. American spending on Israel’s military operations reached more than $17.9 billion from Oct. 7 last year to Sept. 30, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project.
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