Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip lined up at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel on November 11, 2024. — Reuters

The United States stated on Tuesday that Israel was not breaching US law regarding the amount of aid entering Gaza, despite aid agencies claiming it was still insufficient. Israel had declared the opening of an additional aid crossing into Gaza, just before the deadline imposed by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden to enhance humanitarian conditions in Gaza or face a reduction in military assistance. Gaza has been grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis since the outbreak of war following Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israel, setting a deadline of November 13 to comply with US law on permitting humanitarian assistance. When asked if Israel had met the demands, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said: "We have not made an assessment that they are in violation of US law." He added that the overall humanitarian situation in Gaza remains unsatisfactory, but the focus is on the actions being taken.

These actions, Patel noted, are considered steps in the right direction, despite Israel not meeting several metrics explicitly outlined in the letter, including allowing a minimum of 350 trucks per day into Gaza. Patel stated that the administration is "constantly assessing and evaluating" even after the deadline. However, with only about nine weeks left in office before President-elect Donald Trump takes over, the window for significant change is narrowing.

Hamas accused the United States of complicity in the "war of genocide" in Gaza. On the eve of the deadline, Israel's military announced the opening of the Kissufim crossing "as part of the effort and commitment to increase the volume and routes of aid." However, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and eight humanitarian groups argued that Israel was still not doing enough.

The eight organizations, including Oxfam and Save The Children, stated: "The humanitarian situation in Gaza is now at its worst point since the war began in October 2023." A top UN official condemned the "daily cruelty" in Gaza, describing acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes. Joyce Msuya, interim chief of the OCHA humanitarian agency, questioned the UN Security Council about the distinction and precautions taken when over 70% of civilian housing is either damaged or destroyed.

Louise Wateridge, an UNRWA emergencies officer, noted that aid entering the Gaza Strip is at its lowest level in months. Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 43,665 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

In Gaza City, a visibly exhausted Umm Muhammad Awda told AFP: "My uncle's family, they were all killed, there was no one left." Since the dawn prayer, they were shelling us." Gaza's civil defence agency reported that at least 14 people were killed in Israeli strikes. The Israeli army announced the deaths of four soldiers in northern Gaza, bringing its losses in the territory to 376 since ground operations began on October 27, 2023.

Deadly Israeli strikes also pounded Lebanon, where Israel has intensified its bombing campaign since September 23, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut and in the east and south. Rocket fire from Lebanon killed two men in northern Israel, according to first responders. Lebanon's health ministry reported at least 33 people were killed in Israeli strikes. The attacks targeted not only known Hezbollah strongholds but also areas where the Iran-backed group has not traditionally had a presence.

A strike on a town in the Chouf region south of Beirut killed at least 15 people, including four children, while another in the Aley region north of Beirut killed eight. More than 3,280 people have been killed in Lebanon since the clashes began last year, the majority of them since late September, according to the ministry's figures.

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