The USA had set Tuesday as the deadline for Israel to meet the set requirements for increased emergency aid to Gaza. And after an evaluation, the country does not believe that Israel has violated American laws regarding how much - or little - emergency aid reaches Gaza.
This despite the fact that eight international aid organizations are warning that Israel has taken steps that have worsened the situation.
Want to see improvement
"The situation is even more catastrophic today than a month ago," they write in the report according to AP.
We are not giving Israel a free pass, assures Vedant Patel, spokesperson for the American State Department.
We want to see further improvements. We want to see that these continue over a significant period of time and ultimately, we want them to produce results.
In mid-October, the USA's Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged Israel to immediately improve the situation for the civilian population in war-torn Gaza Strip. Among other things, they demanded that at least 350 trucks with aid be allowed into Gaza daily and that another border crossing to the besieged area be opened.
Still unsatisfactory
In response to a direct question about whether Israel has met the USA's requirements, Vedant Patel replied that "we have not assessed it as breaking American laws".
The humanitarian situation in Gaza overall is still unsatisfactory. But regarding the appeal, it's not about whether something is satisfactory or not, it's about what actions we see, says Patel, adding that Israel is moving in the right direction.
The "partial progress" the USA claims to have seen does not meet the target of 350 daily trucks, Patel admits, and promises continued evaluation of Israel's work to improve the situation.
If we don't see results on the ground, we will of course make new appropriate assessments.
Israel itself claims that the country is meeting "most" of the requirements set by the USA, reports the news agency Reuters.
