Two senior U.S. officials traveling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken have compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to humanitarian pauses in the fighting to Israel’s initial refusal to allow any assistance in to Gaza in the early days of the war. After the Israelis realized the strategic implications of denying food, water, electricity and other supplies to Palestinian civilians, their resistance began to erode, according to the officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions.
Quick Read
- U.S. officials critique Israeli stance on humanitarian pauses
- Senior U.S. diplomats note Israel’s initial hesitance to allow aid into Gaza, comparing it to objections to humanitarian pauses in the conflict.
- Discussions indicate a strategic shift as Israel agrees to increase aid truck access into Gaza amid the growing needs of the displaced population.
- Gaza aid capacity potentially increasing
- Around 100 trucks have entered Gaza recently, with Israeli officials open to permitting more, depending on efficient ground handling by international organizations.
- Anticipated needs may demand up to 500-600 trucks per day, considering the influx of displaced persons to southern Gaza.
- Humanitarian pauses linked to aid efficacy and security
- Officials argue that humanitarian pauses are crucial for maintaining aid momentum and ensuring the safety of aid workers and civilians.
- Israel’s agreement to these pauses may hinge on their strategic considerations, including ongoing tensions with Hamas over hostages.
- Fuel supplies for essential services a key concern
- Israel has tentatively agreed to allow fuel for critical services in southern Gaza, yet actual fuel delivery remains pending, with northern supplies depleted.
The Associated Press has the story:
US Officials: Israel’s resistance to aid deliveries to Gaza will ease
Newslooks- AMMAN, Jordan
Two senior U.S. officials traveling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken have compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to humanitarian pauses in the fighting to Israel’s initial refusal to allow any assistance in to Gaza in the early days of the war.
After the Israelis realized the strategic implications of denying food, water, electricity and other supplies to Palestinian civilians, their resistance began to erode, according to the officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions.
About 100 trucks entered Gaza over the past two days and the current capacity is about 100-105 per day, but the Israelis have indicated they are now willing to consider screening and allowing in as many trucks as can be handled efficiently by the implementers on the ground, including drivers, warehouse operations, distributors and others from a variety of international organizations like the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and the World Food Program, the officials said.
Given the already exponential increase in southern Gaza’s population by roughly 800,000 to 1 million and the potential for many of the 300,000-400,000 still in the north to flee to the south, the needs are expected to grow to require as many as 500-600 trucks per day, the officials said.
But increasing to that capacity will also depend on the relative stability of the security situation on the ground, something unlikely to be achieved without humanitarian pauses, which would give a measure or confidence to not only Palestinian civilians but also to aid workers and distributors, according to the officials.
The officials said they believed the Israelis would come to understand the necessity of providing adequate assistance to Gaza’s growing southern population but were still grappling with what pauses might mean for the intense pressure they are currently applying against Hamas to get them to release Israelis and others who are still being held hostage by the group, the officials said.
In terms of fuel, the officials said that Israel had agreed in principle to allow U.N. fuel depots in southern Gaza to be refilled once they have been exhausted for use by desalination plants, hospitals and aid convoys. But they said no new fuel has yet entered southern Gaza and none is available in the north.
