US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said Tuesday that Israel had partially complied with the demands laid out in a letter by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin a month ago giving Israel 30 days to comply with a list of demands regarding humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip or risk losing American military aid,
The deadline to comply with the demands in the letter from October 13 is today. The letter claimed that if Israel did not comply it risked being found in violation of a law blocking the US from giving military aid to a nation that blocks humanitarian aid from reaching civilians.
Patel stated that while Israel had not complied with all of America's demands, the administration has not “made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of US law.”
The State Department spokesperson added that the US would continue to monitor Israel's actions in the field of humanitarian aid to Gaza and is prepared to act if it finds Israel in violation of the law specified in the warning letter.
Israel has fulfilled many of the demands given in the article, including the opening and reopening of the Erez Crossing and Kissufim Crossing, the resumption of aid to northern Gaza, the opening of new aid routes in Gaza, and the relaxation of bureaucratic requirements for aid organizations, among others. Despite these changes, the US says that the number of aid trucks entering Gaza has not reached the levels it sought.
This week, the IDF announced that on Sunday, during the passage of a convoy coordinated with the international community and monitored by the IDF, unusual movement was detected. The convoy was stopped for a security check at a checkpoint along the Humanitarian Route between northern and southern Gaza. During the inspection, IDF troops discovered a bag containing ammunition for firearms.
IDF troops apprehended those involved, including members of the convoy, who were then transferred to security forces for further investigation. Inquiries were also made with the relevant organization.
"It is important to note that this was an internal convoy traveling inside the Gaza Strip from the north to the south, and not through the crossings designated for bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza," the IDF stated.