Israel rejects aid groups’ Gaza report, says it ‘relies on partial information’

By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel rejected on Wednesday accusations made by eight international aid groups, including Oxfam and Save the Children, that Israel had failed to meet U.S. demands to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Washington said on Tuesday that Israel had made progress in implementing the list of demands which it had given Israel 30 days to complete or face a potential halt in U.S. military support. Tuesday marked the deadline for meeting the demands.

COGAT, the branch of the Israeli military which coordinates humanitarian aid to Gaza, said humanitarian organisations had not coordinated with, or sought information from, the military before filing their report and thus had produced a conclusion based on “partial information”.

The military said the organisations had evaluated a joint task force of the military and international bodies for humanitarian aid “despite none of the organisations being partners in this room or aware of the processes occurring there”.

The Israeli military “intends to continue its tireless efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Strip during the ongoing conflict”, a statement said.

The Biden administration has provided strong support to Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked the country in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.

More than 43,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, according to Hamas figures. Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland of wrecked buildings and piles of rubble where more than two million Gazans seek shelter as best they can.

The U.S. deadline expired just days after global food security experts said there was a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent” in parts of northern Gaza, an assertion also rejected outright by Israel as it presses its military offensive against Hamas militants in the area.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Gareth Jones)