Middle East conflict: USA continues to provide military aid to Israel despite suffering in Gaza

Despite the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the US government wants to continue providing military support to Israel. Even after the deadline set by it to improve the situation in the sealed-off coastal strip expires this Wednesday, military aid will not be restricted for the time being, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said when asked by journalists in Washington.

In mid-October, the US government called on Israel to significantly improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip within 30 days. Otherwise there is a risk of violating US laws on military support – which could also endanger American military aid to Israel. “We have not found that they are violating US law. However, we will continue to monitor and pay close attention,” Patel said.

Israel has taken important steps to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the US State Department said. The Erez border crossing has been opened for aid deliveries, and the border crossing in Kissufim should also reopen. International aid organizations contradicted the account. “The people of Gaza are being starved,” said a joint report by eight organizations, including Oxfam and Care.

Aid organizations warn of famine in the Gaza Strip

The situation of the people in the coastal strip has continued to deteriorate since the Israeli armed forces began their war against the Islamist Hamas over a year ago, the aid organizations wrote. The infrastructure has been largely destroyed, there is a lack of food, water and medicine, and almost two million people have been displaced. Israel is not fulfilling its obligation to improve the situation. According to aid organizations, around 800,000 people in the Gaza Strip live in conditions that approach famine.

The situation is particularly devastating in the north of the coastal strip. The entire area has been declared a combat zone. “The entire Palestinian population in the northern Gaza Strip is at imminent risk of death from disease, starvation and violence,” the aid organizations said in their assessment. Among other things, Israel is far from allowing the 350 trucks per day carrying aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip as demanded by the USA. Recently, an average of 42 trucks drove into the coastal strip. Before the Gaza War began in October 2023, around 500 trucks arrived in the Gaza Strip every day.

Trump appoints real estate investor as special envoy for the Middle East

The future US President Donald Trump is laying the first stakes for his Middle East policy. He nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel. The former pastor is considered a vocal supporter of Israel. In the past, he supported the Israeli government’s construction of settlements in the West Bank. During the election campaign, Trump indicated that he wanted to align US foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests. He also appointed real estate investor and campaign donor Steven Witkoff as special envoy for the Middle East. According to media reports, Trump’s regular Gulf partner has no diplomatic experience or special knowledge of the Middle East.

US military attacks militias in Yemen and Syria

The US military attacked pro-Iranian militia positions in Yemen and Syria. The US Department of Defense said airstrikes were carried out on several Houthi rebel weapons depots in Yemen over the weekend. “There were stored numerous advanced conventional weapons that were used by the Iranian-backed Houthis against U.S. and international military and civilian vessels operating in international waters in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said .

In Syria, the US military attacked a weapons depot and a logistics center of a pro-Iranian militia, according to the US Central Command (Centcom), which is responsible, among other things, for the Middle East. The attack was a response to attacks on US troops in Syria. “We have made it clear that attacks on US personnel and our partners’ units and facilities will not be tolerated,” said Centcom Commander Michael Erik Kurilla.

Dead after attacks in Israel and Lebanon

There were more deaths in Israel and Lebanon after mutual attacks. In northern Israel, two men were killed after a rocket hit the area of ​​the coastal town of Nahariya, the Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom and the Israeli police reported. In Lebanon, at least 33 people were killed in Israeli attacks in various areas, according to authorities. In one attack in Dschun in the south of the country alone, 15 people were killed. The victims included eight women and four minors. The state news agency NNA reported that a residential building where displaced people had sought refuge was hit.