US threatens to restrict Military aid unless Israel improves Gaza’s humanitarian situation
What clearly isn’t appropriate, according to the unprecedentedly strong language in a joint letter from the US Secretaries of State and Defence to their Israeli counterparts, is how Israel is prosecuting the war in Gaza
For just over a week, the IDF has been attacking parts of northern Gaza hard
The area, which incorporates the Jabaliya refugee camp, may be hiding the remaining Hamas units that Israel is keen to neutralise but it is also home to around 300,000 people – many of whom have already had to flee their homes during this war
The humanitarian consequences of Israel’s attacks – in which at least 300 people have been killed – are appalling, say aid agencies
Thousands of people are trapped with barely any food or medical aid getting in and in reality, there are no safe spaces to escape to
And that has brought a co-ordinated chorus of condemnation, not just from a collective group of aid agencies but international governments as well
The Americans have now made the continued supply of weaponry and arms to Israel conditional on a change in the humanitarian situation in Gaza
That is an almost unprecedented warning from Washington – at least in the context of this war -- whether it causes Israel to rethink what some had described as a “scorched earth” offensive in northern Gaza remains to be seen
