Northern Gaza is at risk of imminent famine, the World Health Organization said on Saturday, as Israel continues its bombardment across Gaza amid threats by the Biden administration to limit military assistance to Israel if it did not allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.
The Biden administration gave Israel a Nov. 12 deadline to take specific steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but the continuity of U.S. policies towards Israel has become uncertain as President Joe Biden enters a lame duck period following Donald Trump’s election on Tuesday.
While Biden’s policies and weapons provisions have consistently supported Israel, his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has at times been strained, including by some efforts to restrain Israel or nudge the country toward compliance with international law.
Trump, meanwhile, has staunchly supported Israel’s “right to win its war on terror,” and Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have greeted his election with enthusiasm.
Netanyahu was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump in a phone call, and in an effusive post on X, called Trump’s victory “history’s greatest comeback.”
Trump’s election sparked celebrations in Israel, and has fueled concerns among observers of further escalation amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The WHO was citing a report by the Famine Review Committee that said that action was required “within days, not weeks,” to avert a catastrophic famine.
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to the statement, but said Friday they were preparing to open the Kissufim crossing into southern Gaza as part of efforts to “increase the volume and routes of aid into Gaza.”
The IDF said Saturday that 220 seriously injured and ill Palestinians and their caregivers were evacuated from Gaza last week.
It also said that 713 aid trucks were brought into northern Gaza since the beginning of October.
However, this amounts to an average of just 18 trucks per day, far short of what is required. On Saturday, the IDF reported that “11 trucks of food, water, and medical equipment” were brought into the Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun areas in northern Gaza.
