The Rafah crossing, the main aid entry point into Gaza, was closed for nearly two weeks after Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of the crossing as part of a ground attack that saw them advance deeper into eastern Rafah and forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate the city that Israel once considered a “safe zone”.
The Biden administration has expressed growing frustration with Israel’s operations in Rafah, warning it will suspend shipments of certain weapons if the US ally moves forward with a full-scale invasion of the city without a plan to ensure the safety of civilians.
The nearby Kerem Shalom crossing – where four Israeli soldiers were killed in a recent Hamas attack – was also closed, but the Israel Defense Forces said it has since opened, along with a separate entry point, the “Western Erez” crossing. .
Still, humanitarian groups have sounded the alarm over the limited flow of aid to Gaza in recent days.
The United Nations thanked the US for its efforts on Thursday, but also warned that the flow of aid to Gaza could not depend on the temporary pier.
Speaking of a daily news briefingUN spokesman Farhan Haq said land routes remain the most efficient way to transport aid to Gaza, “which is why we need all crossing points to be open”, and appeared to express concerns about the safety of aid workers transferring and distributing aid using the new pier.
State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel emphasized in a news briefing Thursday that the US pier should be “a complement to other routes” facilitating the entry of aid into Gaza.
“While this is a new assistance mechanism for Gaza, it is clear that more must be done,” he said. “Humanitarian conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate and vital border crossings have been closed at a time when it is critical to transfer more aid.”
Vedant said the US will continue to pressure Israel and other partners in the region to ensure the safety of aid workers and to ensure that “aid can get to the places it needs to go.”
Israel has placed blame for delays in reopening the Rafah crossing on Egypt, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling CNBC’s Sara Eisen in an interview on Wednesday, “we want to see it open.” Egypt said Israel was solely to blame for keeping the crossing closed since the Palestinian side took over.
The construction of the US pier comes as the UN aid chief warns that famine has become an immediate risk in Gaza as food supplies dwindle in the enclave.
“The food reserves that already existed in southern Gaza are running out. I think we are talking about almost nothing,” said Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Reuters in an interview in Geneva.
Vedant said on Thursday that the US was “deeply concerned by reports indicating worsening conditions and imminent famine in Gaza.”
“Israel needs to do more to urgently provide sustained and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance to enter both northern and southern Gaza,” he said.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
