By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States rejects “any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians in Jabalia, or anywhere else” in the Gaza Strip, U.S. 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 U.N. 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 U.S. 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.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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