U.S. demands Israel improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza or risk military aid

• Israeli authorities closed crossings into Gaza earlier this month, halting deliveries of food and essential supplies to 400,000 Palestinians before some trucks were able to enter again on Monday.

Catch up quick: Countries that receive U.S. military aid and are in an active military conflict must allow the transfer of U.S.-supported humanitarian aid without interruption, according to U.S. law and a national security memorandum signed by President Biden in February.

• Failure to do so could lead to the suspension of U.S. military aid.
• Last March, the Israeli government sent a written commitment to the Biden administration to abide by these terms.
• The letter sent Monday from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Minister of Defense Yoav Galant signals the Biden administration doesn't think Israel is implementing its commitments.
• The letter was the most wide-ranging and comprehensive list of U.S. demands from Israel since the beginning of the war.

Driving the news: The Biden administration is extremely concerned about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, especially as Israeli Defense Forces renew their operations in the northern Gaza Strip.

• The new Israeli operation led to the suspension of the delivery of aid trucks to northern Gaza for two weeks.
• The Biden administration was concerned the Israeli steps are part of a broader plan proposed by former Israeli generals to impose a siege on northern Gaza and "starve" out Hamas militants.
• Gallant told Austin on Sunday that the IDF isn't implementing the "Generals' Plan."
• Blinken and Austin sent the letter ahead of winter when the humanitarian crisis is expected to worsen.
• The letter was first reported on Israel's channel 12.

What they're saying: In the letter, Blinken and Austin said recent evacuation orders issued by the IDF to the population in Gaza have forced about 1.7 million Palestinians into a small strip of land on the Gaza coast, exposing them to dangerous diseases.

• They added that international aid organizations claim they can't address the needs of Palestinian civilians and that trucks of humanitarian aid paid for by the U.S. are being held up by Israel at the border crossings with Gaza.
• The U.S. officials said in the letter that recent Israeli policies, including limiting the movement of humanitarian aid delivery between southern and northern Gaza, new regulations that make it harder to supply aid to Gaza and increased lawlessness and looting accelerated the deterioration of conditions in Gaza.
• "The amount of assistance entering Gaza in September was the lowest of any month during the past year ... to reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory as consistent with its assurances to us, Israel must, starting now and within 30 days act on the following concrete measures," Blinken and Austin wrote.
• They added: "Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for U.S. policy under NSM-20 and relevant U.S. law (weapons supply)."

An Israeli official said "the letter has been received and is being thoroughly reviewed by Israeli security officials."

• "Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts," the official said.

Zoom in: Blinken and Austin listed a series of demands, including the permanent transfer of 350 aid trucks daily to the Gaza Strip through all four current border crossings as well as the opening of a fifth border crossing.

• They emphasized that Israel must carry out humanitarian pauses throughout Gaza to allow the distribution of aid for at least the next four months.
• The U.S. also demands Israel allow the Palestinians who are concentrated along the coast in Mawasi to move east inland and away from the coastal area before winter.
• Blinken and Austin also demanded Israel ends the isolation of northern Gaza Strip and officially announce it has no policy of forced evacuation of Palestinians from northern Gaza Strip to the southern Gaza Strip.

What to watch: In the letter, Blinken and Austin expressed concern about a bill that is pending in the Knesset to sever ties between the Israeli government and UNRWA and to change the status-quo towards the organization in Jerusalem.

• They noted they share Israeli concerns regarding the alleged participation of UNRWA personnel in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, but stressed the passage of such a law would be devastating for the humanitarian effort in the Gaza Strip at a critical time and would prevent education and welfare services for tens of thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem.
• They emphasized this too could constitute a violation of U.S. laws.
• Blinken and Austin demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exercise his powers and influence over Knesset members so the bill doesn't pass.

The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense also demanded in the letter that Israel allow the Red Cross to visit Palestinian detainees in detention facilities in Israel as soon as possible, in light of reports of abuse of detainees.

• Blinken and Austin also wrote that the U.S. wants to establish a new mechanism with Israel to discuss incidents of mass Palestinian civilian casualties during IDF operations.
• They stressed that the talks on this issue have so far not yielded the required results and requested to hold a virtual meeting on the subject by the end of October.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with an Israeli official's comments about the letter.