Israel fails to meet US deadline to increase Gaza aid, rights groups say

Humanitarian situation in Gaza ‘at worst point since the war began’, extracting ‘enormous cost’ for Palestinians.

International rights groups say Israel has failed to meet a deadline set by the United States to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip or face unspecified restrictions on military assistance.

The conditions in the war-ravaged enclave are worse than at any point in a war that started in October 2023, eight groups said on Tuesday when the 30-day deadline was set to expire.

On October 13, the administration of US President Joe Biden told Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, failing which Washington would scale back military support to its key ally.

“Israel not only failed to meet the US criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in northern Gaza,” said the groups, which include the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees International and Save the Children.

“That situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago,” they said in a statement after the humanitarian agencies assessed Israel’s measures. They added: “Israel has failed to comply with its ally’s demands – at enormous human cost for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”