A UN report accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinian Arabs in Gaza has sparked a harsh reaction from the United States. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel expressed disagreement with the UN committee’s conclusions and emphasized that such accusations and language are baseless and do not reflect the real humanitarian situation.
The Times Of Israel writes about this.
Patel also criticized humanitarian organizations, accusing them of spreading false information about the situation in Gaza. As an example, he cited a scorecard issued by several human rights organizations, which states that Israel has completely blocked humanitarian aid supplies to northern Gaza. According to Patel, this is not true, as several humanitarian convoys have been allowed into the area in recent days. However, he noted that Israeli authorities had previously restricted access to major cities in northern Gaza for almost a month.
Patel also denied claims that Israel had not expanded the Muwasi humanitarian zone. While the scorecard does not state that the zone has not been expanded, it does emphasize that only a limited number of people are allowed to leave the zone.
Patel also noted that the Israeli military and COGAT will in the coming days reduce the list of dual-use items that are prohibited from being imported into Gaza. These changes will occur at the request of the United States sent to Israel a month ago. The letter said the country must take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within 30 days, otherwise the United States could recognize its actions as a violation of US law.
The Biden administration, commenting on the situation, said Israel has taken sufficient steps to comply with US law. However, as the representative clarified, the United States will continue to monitor developments to ensure effective measures to resolve the humanitarian crisis.
