The United States rejects "any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians in Jabalia, or anywhere else" in the Gaza Strip, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday.
"Israel's words must be matched by action on the ground. Right now, that is not happening. This must change - immediately," she told the UN Security Council.
The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on Oct. 13 that it must take steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.
Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza earlier this month. Thomas-Greenfield said on Oct. 16 that Washington was watching to ensure Israel's actions on the ground show it does not have a "policy of starvation" in the north.
On Monday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said around 100,000 people were marooned in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza without medical or food supplies. Reuters could not verify the number independently.
The UN World Food Program called on Tuesday for immediate action to avert famine in the Gaza Strip, warning that the humanitarian crisis there could soon worsen amid what it said were severe restrictions on aid flows.
A global monitor warned this month that the whole of the Palestinian enclave remained at risk of famine, with Israeli military operations adding to concerns and hampering humanitarian access.
"Now, as the situation in northern Gaza continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of a larger group being impacted by famine will surely increase unless conditions on the ground improve," said WFP, the United Nations' food agency.
WFP said that it had approximately 94,000 tons of food standing by in Egypt and Jordan that could feed 1 million people for four months, but that could not bring it into Gaza because too few entry points were open and others were not safe enough.
Since Israel seized the Rafah crossing with Egypt in May - months after it began its offensive in Gaza following the Ham as-led attack on Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023 - all routes into Gaza have been controlled by Israel.
"Restrictions on humanitarian aid coming into Gaza are severe," WFP said, adding that only 5,000 tons had entered the Gaza Strip this month.
Other constraints that needed to be addressed to improve aid flows in Gaza include approval of trucks and truck drivers and delays at check points, it said.
