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US says Israel is “not doing enough” to improve conditions in Gaza

Israel is “not doing enough” to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this Thursday (Friday morning in mainland Spain) in a telephone conversation with the outgoing Israeli Defense Minister. Yoav Gallant.

“No, not enough is being done. I think it’s clear that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. This is something that Secretary Austin talked to Secretary Gallant about,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said at a hearing.

During this telephone conversation, Austin highlighted that the United States will continue to emphasize the importance of “adopting urgent measures” to address the “dire humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian enclave, where humanitarian aid will be arriving in the month of October. Only 990 trucks had entered. According to United Nations data, this is the lowest number in 2024.

Singh highlighted that, although Gallant was “very accommodative” regarding allowing the entry of this humanitarian aid, “more needs to come and more crossings need to be opened.” “A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we were seeing more movement at the Erez crossing – one of the main entry points for humanitarian aid into the Strip. It’s positive, but it’s not enough,” the US official said.

The talks between Lloyd and Gallant took place on the same day that more than 2,200 pallets of humanitarian aid for Gaza, containing food, water, medical or hygiene supplies, were unloaded in the Israeli port of Ashdod to be transported in more than 300 trucks Had gone. The Erez West and Kerem Shalom crossings are located to the north and south of the Strip, respectively. Organizations in charge of launching aid and distributing it in the enclave, such as the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) or Doctors Without Borders, have been warning for months that not enough supplies are entering the enclave, where most of the population is Lives overcrowded in tents without electricity or running water.

On October 13, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin, in a letter addressed to Gallant and the Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, gave Israel 30 days to “increase all humanitarian assistance” to the Strip, which This meant that military aid to the country was in danger. Since then, Israeli officials typically report hundreds of trucks entering the enclave each week, figures that do not take into account how much of that aid has been collected and distributed by international organizations, which have been accused of Israeli bombs and looting. Have to face. A population desperate to transport what little they had that escaped inspection at checkpoints. (efe)