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UN tells Israel to let more aid into north Gaza

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Israel has allowed a trickle of aid into Gaza this week, and the U.S. says it is not enough. The Biden administration is threatening to withhold some military aid to Israel unless that changes, as NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: At a Security Council meeting, a top United Nations aid official painted a grim picture of northern Gaza. Joyce Msuya says that Jabalia refugee camp is under siege.

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JOYCE MSUYA: The images emerging from the camp show a traumatized population running for their lives with no safe place to go.

KELEMEN: U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield is alarmed about that, too.

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LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD: A quote-unquote "policy of starvation" in northern Gaza would be horrific and unacceptable and would have implications under international law and U.S. law.

KELEMEN: She says the Israeli government told the U.S. that this is not their policy.

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THOMAS-GREENFIELD: And we will be watching to see that Israel's actions match this statement.

KELEMEN: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have written a letter to the Israeli spelling out some specific changes that they expect over the next month. U.S. military aid could be withheld if the Israelis don't act. Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, is shifting the blame to Hamas.

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DANNY DANON: The problem in Gaza is not lack of aid. The problem is Hamas, which hijacks the aid, stealing, storing and selling it to feed their terror machine while civilians suffer.

KELEMEN: That's an oversimplification says Scott Anderson, who's with the U.N. in Gaza. He says there's organized crime and no security.

SCOTT ANDERSON: There needs to be a solution that will allow trucks to move freely without being shot at by looters or being looted or being intimidated.

KELEMEN: And he says that's urgent now as winter approaches. He says Palestinians need tents, clothing and food.

Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

(SOUNDBITE OF GHOSTFACE KILLAH AND BADBADNOTGOOD SONG, "TONE'S RAP") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Michele Kelemen has been with NPR for two decades, starting as NPR's Moscow bureau chief and now covering the State Department and Washington's diplomatic corps. Her reports can be heard on all NPR News programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.