JERUSALEM — Israel has failed to meet US demands to allow greater humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, where conditions are worse than ever. In 13 months of warinternational aid agencies said in a statement on Tuesday.

Obstacles to aid distribution were on this screen this week. Even after the military authorized deliveries to the northernmost part of Gaza, where food access has been cut off for almost more than a month due to the Israeli siege, the United Nations said it could not deliver much of it because of the turmoil and restrictions imposed by Israel. soldiers are on the ground.

Hunger experts warned the north may already be experiencing famine.

Meanwhile, in the south, hundreds of truckloads of aid are stalled on the Gaza side of the border because the UN says it cannot reach them to distribute; again due to lawlessness, theft, and the threat of Israeli military restrictions.

The Biden administration last month set a deadline, ending Tuesday, for Israel to “deploy” more food and other emergency aid into Palestinian territory. The administration has warned that failure to comply could trigger U.S. laws requiring Israel to reduce military support during offensives against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has announced a series of steps, but their impact is unclear. On Tuesday, a new gate opened for aid to enter in central Gaza, outside the city of Deir al-Balah. He also announced a small expansion of the coastal “humanitarian zone” where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltered in tent camps. It connected electricity to the desalination plant in Deir al Balah.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller He said last week that Israel had made some progress but it needs to do more. US officials still have not said whether they will take any action.

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.

Eight international aid organizations said in their report on Tuesday that “Israel has not only failed to meet US criteria but has also taken actions that dramatically worsen the situation on the ground.” especially in Northern Gaza. … This situation is much worse today than it was a month ago.”

The report listed 19 measures of compliance with US demands. He said that Israel did not comply with 15, but partially complied with 4.

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

In a letter dated October 13, the United States gave Israel 30 days to, among other things, allow at least 350 truckloads of goods into Gaza each day; open the fifth gate; allowing people in coastal tent camps to move inland before winter; and providing access for aid groups to 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.

Aid levels remain well below US benchmarks. Access to northern Gaza remains restricted and Israel continues its intervention. Laws against UNRWA.

Israel launched a major attack last month It is in the north where Hamas militants are said to be regrouping. The operation killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands.

Throughout October and the first days of November, Israel did not allow food to enter the area where tens of thousands of civilians remained, despite evacuation orders.

Last week, Israel allowed 11 trucks to go to Beit Hanoun, one of the hardest-hit cities in the north. But the World Food Organization said soldiers at a checkpoint forced their trucks to unload their cargo before reaching shelters in the town.

On Tuesday, COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for humanitarian aid to Gaza, announced it had authorized new deliveries of food and water to Beit Hanoun a day in advance. Again, WFP said that while it tried to send 14 trucks, only three trucks could reach the city “due to delays in obtaining movement permits and crowds along the route.” It was stated that when he tried to deliver the rest on Tuesday, Israel did not allow it.

According to Israeli data, aid to all of Gaza dropped in October, with only 34,000 tons of food entering; this figure was only a third of the previous month.

UN agencies say much less aid is getting through because of Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and lawlessness on the Gaza side that makes collecting and distributing aid difficult.

According to Israel’s official figures, an average of 57 trucks a day entered Gaza in October and an average of 75 trucks a day in November. The UN said it had received only 39 trucks a day since the beginning of October.

COGAT said 900 truckloads of aid were waiting uncollected on the Gaza side of the southern Kerem Shalom crossing point.

In response to the aid groups’ report, COGAT said: “Organisations should focus on distributing the aid that awaits them before giving grades.”

UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge said the military did not coordinate the arrival of aid trucks to the stacked cargo. “If we’re not given safe passage to go and get it… it’s not going to get to the people who need it,” he said.

COGAT blamed the decline in October on the closure of crossings for Jewish holidays and ceremonies commemorating the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war. An Israeli official also drew attention to the thefts of Hamas and organized crime families in Gaza. He spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations.

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 of 2.3 million has been displaced, with hundreds of thousands of people crammed into squalid tent camps with little food, water and sanitary facilities.

While the USA was providing billions of dollars of military aid to Israel during the war, it was also pressing for more aid to Gaza.

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 President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

Charles Blaha, a former US State Department official who runs the office responsible for ensuring US military support complies with US and international law, predicted the Biden administration will find that Israel violated US 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 expected the administration to prioritize U.S. national security interests and waive restrictions on military support.

“If past is prologue, no holds barred and then kick your way to the next administration.”

___

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed reporting.

___

Follow AP’s war coverage at: