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US Says Israel Must Improve Gaza's Humanitarian Situation or Risk Aid

People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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US Says Israel Must Improve Gaza's Humanitarian Situation or Risk Aid

People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Israel must take urgent steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza to avoid legal action involving US military aid, according to news reports on Tuesday.

"We are writing now to underscore the US government's deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and seek urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory," they wrote in an Oct. 13 letter to their Israeli counterparts, posted by an Axios reporter on X, according to Reuters.

The State Department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Israel's government also could not be immediately reached for comment.

The report comes as Israeli forces expand operations into northern Gaza amid ongoing concerns about access to humanitarian aid throughout the enclave and civilians' access to food, water and medicine.

US officials earlier this year said Israel may have violated international humanitarian law using US-supplied weapons during its military operation in Gaza.

This week's letter cited Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, which restricts (prohibits) military aid to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian assistance.

It also cited a National Security Memorandum that US President Joe Biden issued in February that requires the State Department to report to Congress on whether it finds credible Israel's assurances that its use of US weapons does not violate US or international law.

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Türkiye Will Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ If Syria Govt Cannot Address Kurd Militia Issue, FM Says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting of foreign Ministers on developments in Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting of foreign Ministers on developments in Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
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Türkiye Will Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ If Syria Govt Cannot Address Kurd Militia Issue, FM Says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting of foreign Ministers on developments in Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting of foreign Ministers on developments in Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, 14 December 2024. (EPA)

Türkiye will do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if the new Syrian administration cannot address Ankara's concerns about US-allied Kurdish groups it views as terrorist groups, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday.

Türkiye regards the YPG, the militant group spearheading the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.

Hostilities have escalated since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad less than two weeks ago, with Türkiye and Syrian groups it backs seizing the city of Manbij from the SDF on Dec. 9. Assad's fall has left the Kurdish factions on the back foot as they seek to retain political gains made in the last 13 years.

In an interview with France 24, Fidan said Ankara's preferred option was for the new administration in Damascus to address the problem in line with Syria's territorial unity, sovereignty, and integrity, adding that the YPG should be disbanded immediately.

"If it doesn't happen, we have to protect our own national security," he said. When asked if that included military action, Fidan said: "Whatever it takes."

Asked about SDF commander Mazloum Abdi's comments about the possibility of a negotiated solution with Ankara, Fidan said the group should seek such a settlement with Damascus, as there was "a new reality" there now.

"The new reality, hopefully, they will address these issues, but at the same time, (the) YPG/PKK, they know what we want. We don't want to see any form of military threat to ourselves. Not the present one, but also the potential one," he added.

Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the YPG-led SDF in northern Syria, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halt support for the fighters.

The US-backed SDF played a major role defeating ISIS militants in 2014-2017 with US air support, and still guards its fighters in prison camps. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the extremist group would try to re-establish capabilities in this period.

Fidan said he didn't find the recent uptick in US troops in Syria to be the "right decision", adding the battle against ISIS was an "excuse" to maintain support for the SDF.

"The fight against ISIS, there is only one job: to keep ISIS prisoners in prisons, that's it," he said.

Fidan also said that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which swept into Damascus to topple Assad, had "excellent cooperation" with Ankara in the battle against ISIS and al-Qaeda in the past through intelligence sharing.

He also said Türkiye was not in favor of any foreign bases, including Russian ones, remaining in Syria, but that the choice was up to the Syrian people.