JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has failed to meet U.S. demands to allow more humanitarian aid access to the war-torn Gaza Strip, where conditions are worse than ever. In 13 months of warinternational aid agencies said in a statement on Tuesday.

Last month, the Biden administration called on Israel to “intensify” more food and other emergency aid to Gaza, giving a 30-day window for that aid that ends Tuesday. He warned that failure to comply could trigger US laws requiring Israel to reduce military support as it wages war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has announced a number of steps aimed at improving the situation. However, US officials recently signaled that Israel has still not taken any steps on this issue. I’m doing enoughHowever, they did not say that they would take any action against it.

Israel’s new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, appeared to downplay the deadline, telling reporters on Monday that he was confident “the issue will be resolved.” The Biden administration’s influence may wane following the re-election of Donald Trump, who was a staunch supporter of Israel in his first term.

Tuesday’s report, prepared by eight international aid organizations, listed 19 measures to comply with US demands. He said that Israel did not comply with 15, but partially complied with 4.

The Oct. 13 letter, signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, asks Israel, among other things, to allow at least 350 truckloads of goods into Gaza every day; open the fifth passage to the besieged area; Allowing people in coastal tent camps imposed by Israel to move inland before winter; and providing access for aid groups to hard-hit northern Gaza. They also called on Israel to stop legislation that would hinder the activities of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.

Despite Israel’s steps to increase aid flows, levels remain well below US benchmarks. The promised fifth crossing was scheduled to open on Tuesday, but residents remain trapped in tent camps and aid workers still have limited access to northern Gaza. Israel also continued to advance determinedly Laws against UNRWA.

“Not only has Israel failed to meet US criteria for support for humanitarian intervention, it has also taken actions that have dramatically worsened the situation on the ground. especially in Northern Gaza” said the report. “This situation is much worse today than it was a month ago.”

The report was co-signed by Anera, Care, MedGlobal, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees International and Save the Children.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week that Israel had made some progress but needed to do more to meet U.S. conditions. “When you see all the steps that are being taken, what matters is what that means in terms of outcomes,” he said.

Israel launched a major attack last month In the north of Gaza, where Hamas militants have regrouped. The operation killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands. Despite evacuation orders, Israel does not allow almost any aid to enter the region where tens of thousands of civilians remain.

According to Israeli data, aid to Gaza fell in October; According to Israeli data, only 34,000 tons of food arrived; This corresponds to less than half of the previous month.

UN agencies say even fewer are able to access aid because of Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and lawlessness on the Gaza side that makes collecting and distributing aid difficult.

According to Israeli figures, an average of 57 trucks entered Gaza per day in October and 81 trucks per day in the first week of November. The UN has been reducing this number by 37 trucks per day since the beginning of October.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for humanitarian aid to Gaza, said the drop in the number of aid trucks in October was due to the closure of crossings for Jewish holidays and commemorations of the anniversary of October 7, 2023. Hamas attack that triggered the war.

“October was a very weak month,” said an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military briefing rules. “But if you look at the figures for November, we are continuing steadily with about 50 trucks a day to the north of Gaza and 150 trucks a day to the rest of Gaza.”

He said aid distribution was also hampered by the failure of the UN and other agencies to collect aid entering Gaza, leading to bottlenecks and looting from Hamas and organized crime families in Gaza. He estimates that on some days, 40 percent of aid is stolen.

Israel on Monday announced a small expansion of the coastal “humanitarian zone” where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sheltered in vast tent camps. He also announced additional steps, including connecting electricity to the desalination plant in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah and efforts to bring in supplies for the winter. On Tuesday, COGAT announced it would make “tactical” deliveries of food and water to Beit Hanoun, one of the hardest-hit towns in northern Gaza.

The war began last year when Hamas-led militants raided southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 250. There are still nearly 100 hostages in Gaza, and a third of them are believed to be dead.

According to local health authorities, Israeli bombardment and land occupation have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, more than half of whom were women and children; However, it does not say how many of those killed were militants. Nearly 90 percent of the population has been displaced, often multiple times, and hundreds of thousands of people have been herded into squalid tent camps with little food, water and sanitary facilities.

The United States provided billions of dollars in military aid to Israel during the war and pressed for more humanitarian aid to Gaza while shielding Israel from international calls for a ceasefire. The amount of aid entering Gaza increased last spring under pressure from the United States. 7 aid workers lost their lives in Israeli attacks before decreasing again.

Trump promises to end wars in the Middle East without telling how. He was a staunch defender of Israel in his previous term, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says they have spoken three times since his re-election last week.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose role is mostly ceremonial, is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

Charles Blaha, a former State Department official who runs the office responsible for ensuring U.S. military support complies with U.S. and international law, predicted the Biden administration will find that Israel violated U.S. law by preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians in Gaza.

“It is undeniable that Israel did this,” Blaha said. “They would really have to torture themselves to see that Israel does not restrict aid.”

But he said the administration would likely invoke U.S. national security interests and waive restrictions on military support.

“If history is prologue, no holds barred and then toss the can toward the next administration.”

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Magdy reported from Cairo. AP reporters Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed reporting.

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