No policy change to announce, says US as Gaza deadline for Israel expires

The US State Department said Tuesday it does not have a policy change to announce concerning Israel after a Washington deadline expired for Tel Aviv to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said US officials continue to talk to their Israeli counterparts about steps that Israel has taken as a result of US intervention, as well as additional steps that still need to be taken.

“We, at this time, have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of US law. But most importantly, we are to continue to watch how these steps that they've taken, how they are being implemented, how that they can be continued to be expanded on, and through that, we're going to continue to assess their compliance with US law,” said Patel.

“We've seen some progress being made; we would like to see some more changes happen. We believe that had it not been for us, intervention, these changes may not have ever taken place. But most importantly, we want to see continued progress, and that's what we're looking for,” he added.

Asked if there is going to be any consequence for Israel not meeting the requirements, the spokesman said, “I certainly don't have a change in US policy to announce today.”

His remarks came in response to the deadline raised by Washington in an Oct. 13 letter for Israel to take measures to improve the situation in Gaza in 30 days or risk US military aid.

Patel said the point of the letter was to raise areas of concern and to lay out some steps in which the US thought that addressing some of the areas would lead to steps in the right direction when it comes to humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

“We have seen some steps taken. There need to be most importantly, we need to see this, these kinds of efforts sustained over a long period of time, and that's what we hope to see,” he added.

Patel reiterated that the situation in Gaza remains dire.

A group of eight humanitarian aid organizations said in a statement earlier that Israel has failed to meet criteria set out by the US to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. 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 aid organizations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, met Monday in Washington with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, during which they reviewed steps that Israel has taken to improve the situation inside Gaza in response to the Oct. 13 letter sent by Blinken and defense chief Lloyd Austin. ​​​​​​​

“The Secretary emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza. The Secretary further reiterated the importance that Israel take every possible step to minimize civilian harm,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement Tuesday.