Israel has announced that it would allow "temporary" aid deliveries into famine-threatened northern Gaza, hours after the United States warned of a sharp shift in its policy over the Gaza war.
In a tense, 30-minute phone call yesterday, US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that US policy on Israel was dependent on the protection of civilians and aid workers in Gaza, the first hint of possible conditions to Washington's military support.
Just hours later, in the middle of the night in Jerusalem, Israel announced it would open more aid routes into blockaded Gaza.
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Israel’s security cabinet issued a temporary permission for humanitarian deliveries to the Gaza Strip via the port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing in the north of the Palestinian enclave, the Kan radio reported.
ReplyDeleteThe cabinet, which brings together heads of Israel’s key ministries, also decided to allow more Jordanian aid deliveries into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southeastern part of the Palestinian enclave.
US President Joe Biden held a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 4. According to Kan, the conversation was tense, and the White House’s message, delivered during the 50-minute conversation was extremely tough. White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters later in the day that Biden gave Netanyahu to understand that if the situation in the Gaza Strip remains unchanged, Washington will have to review its Middle Eastern policies.
According to a White House statement, the US leader "made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers." He also made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by Washington’s assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.