US Says Gaza Humanitarian Conditions Improving After Warning Letter to Israel

U.S. officials warned in an Oct. 13 letter that U.S. support for Israel could be impacted if humanitarian conditions don’t improve in the Gaza Strip.

A truck carries humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom (Karm Abu Salem) border crossing between southern Israel and Gaza, on May 30, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. government signaled that Israeli authorities have taken some steps this week to improve humanitarian conditions in the embattled Gaza Strip after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns in a letter about the situation.

On Oct. 15, the U.S. government confirmed that Austin and Blinken contacted their Israeli counterparts to warn that U.S. support for Israel could be impacted if Israeli officials didn’t make a greater effort to ensure that aid could flow to civilians in the Gaza Strip while it battles Hamas—an internationally designated terrorist organization.