LEILA FADEL, HOST:
United Nations aid agencies say over the last two weeks, Israel has blocked almost all food aid from getting into northern Gaza, leaving the some 400,000 Palestinians a choice - starve or flee.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Biden has in the past, expressed frustration with Israel over the lack of humanitarian aid reaching Palestinian civilians. Now his administration has sent a detailed letter to Israel telling the government it has 30 days to increase the food and other assistance going into the territory.
FADEL: For more, we're joined by NPR's Greg Myre. Hi, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Leila.
FADEL: So what exactly is in this letter?
MYRE: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin both signed the letter. It includes more than a dozen bullet points with very specific demands on Israel. For example, it says Israel must allow a minimum of 350 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily, and that Israel needs to approve 400 Palestinian drivers who can go back and forth to the border to prevent delays. Several U.S. officials addressed this letter yesterday, including John Kirby of the National Security Council.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOHN KIRBY: The letter was not meant as a threat. The letter was simply meant to reiterate the sense of urgency we feel about the need for an increase - dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance.
FADEL: A lot of the - what's going on in Gaza has been overshadowed by the battles between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. So if you could just bring us up to speed on what's happening in Gaza and really the dire situation in the north.
MYRE: Yeah, sure. Israel has carried out a large military operation against Hamas in northern Gaza. Much of it focused on a longtime Hamas stronghold, the Jabalia refugee camp on the edge of Gaza City. Now, at the same time, aid groups say Israel has effectively cut off food assistance. The U.N. says no food deliveries have reached northern Gaza for the past 12 days and conditions are getting increasingly desperate for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians there. And the U.S. says that the amount of aid that went into Gaza last month was lower than in any other month since the war began a year ago.
FADEL: So does this mean the U.S. will cut weapon shipments to Israel if there's not a dramatic increase in aid over the next month?
MYRE: The letter does not say explicitly what would happen, though it does cite a law barring U.S. military aid to countries that block U.S. humanitarian aid. The U.S. says it sent a similar letter in April, and Israel responded by letting more aid into the territory.
But we can't ignore the political calendar. The Biden administration has been reluctant to act against Israel in the run-up to the presidential election. This letter gives Israel 30 days to act, and that would take us to mid-November, after the election, when President Biden may feel he has more room to act.
FADEL: You have this sort of warning from the U.S. that might risk some military aid to Israel, but we should note the U.S. is also sending additional military support to Israel. What can you tell us about that?
MYRE: Yeah, according to the Pentagon, the U.S. is setting up a very advanced air defense system known as THAAD. This would help Israel defend against any new ballistic missile strikes by Iran. We know it takes about a hundred U.S. troops to operate one of these THAAD batteries. Israel keeps saying it will respond to the Iranian missile attack from October 1. However, it increasingly looks like this will be a limited response. We're hearing from officials that Israel may target military sites but not oil or nuclear facilities.
FADEL: That's NPR's Greg Myre. Thank you, Greg.
MYRE: Sure thing, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
