US State Department: Israel has 30 days to increase aid entry into Gaza

Washington - Ma'an - US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed that increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to those in need in the Gaza Strip does not cost Israel anything, noting that Tel Aviv has been given 30 days to do so. 'We have seen Israel actually make changes with the increase in humanitarian aid,' Miller said at a news conference. 'We have seen Israel, literally in the last few months, cooperate with humanitarian organizations to carry out a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. We know that.' "Humanitarian aid can be delivered to Gaza. We know that it can be done, that various logistical and bureaucratic obstacles can be overcome, and therefore the Israeli government is obligated to overcome these difficulties and provide more humanitarian aid," the diplomat added. He stressed that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to their Israeli counterparts demanding that they "take concrete steps within 30 days" to improve the humanitarian si tuation in the besieged and devastated Palestinian Strip. 'We found it appropriate … to give them an appropriate period of time to implement it. We don't think it's appropriate to send a letter and simply say this has to happen overnight. We've made clear that there is a short period of time in which we want to see change, because the humanitarian situation on the ground is so dire, but it's appropriate to give them some time to work on the various issues and find ways to get back to acceptable levels of food, water and medicine deliveries,' he continued. According to the official representative of the US State Department, Blinken had previously sent a similar letter last April regarding the humanitarian situation in the Strip. In it, he stated that 'the increase in the volume of humanitarian assistance cannot be a one-time increase.' Miller added: 'We have seen over the past few months that the level of humanitarian assistance has not been sustainable.' Blinken and Austin stressed that failure to comply w ith the US demands would have consequences in terms of providing military assistance to Israel. Earlier, a number of members of the US House of Representatives called on President Joe Biden to stop providing military assistance to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. For his part, Josep Borrell, the European Union's diplomatic coordinator, said on Monday that international humanitarian law was "buried under the rubble of Gaza." According to him, the humanitarian aid reaching Gaza is at its lowest level. He stressed that for the past two weeks, the people of Gaza have not received any food. Source: Maan News Agency