JERUSALEM — Israel has failed to meet U.S. demands to allow greater humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, where conditions are worse than at any point in the 13-month war, international aid agencies said Tuesday.

But in Washington, the Biden administration was less definitive, saying on Tuesday that steps taken by Israel were welcome, though not enough to bring about a dramatic recovery.

In a meeting with Israeli Strategic Affairs Secretary Ron Dermer on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized: “The importance of ensuring that these changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the provision of additional assistance to civilians in Gaza.” Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Blinken “reiterated the importance of Israel taking every possible step to minimize harm to civilians,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

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

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 have warned that there may already be a famine in the north.

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

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 officials did not say whether they would take any action. President Joe Biden met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday, and Herzog said the United States’ “main goal” should be to rein in Iran and its proxies. Herzog also called for the return of hostages taken from Israel in the Hamas attack that started the war, to which Biden said, “I agree.”

A day earlier, Israel’s new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, appeared to downplay the deadline, telling reporters he was confident “the issue will be resolved.” The Biden administration may have less leverage after Donald Trump wins the presidential election; he was a staunch supporter of Israel during 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 have dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly 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 to enforce its laws against UNRWA.

Israel launched a major offensive last month in the north, where it said Hamas militants had regrouped. 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.

The war began 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 promised to end the wars in the Middle East without saying 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.

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

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

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