Israel must prove it does not have Gaza starvation policy, says US

The US has demanded proof on the ground that Israel does not have a policy of starvation in northern Gaza as it turned up the pressure yesterday on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more aid into the territory.

- Patrick Wintour

The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the security council, at a meeting convened by France, the UK and Algeria, that such a policy "would not just be horrific and unacceptable" but also had "implications under international and US law".

"The government of Israel has said that this is not their policy, that food and other essential supplies will not be cut off, and we will be watching to see that Israel's actions on the ground match this statement," she said.

Her warning came after a US government letter, sent to Israel privately on Sunday, warned that the US would partially cut off arms supplies unless the supply of aid was permanently transformed within 30 days.

The sudden surge in pressure is in part a response to growing fears that Israel may be trying to force Palestinians to leave northern Gaza using starvation. But it also reflects a new assertive line being pushed by the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, who is worried her election prospects will be damaged if the administration is seen to have been in power during an enforced exodus.

Thomas-Greenfield warned that civilians must not be declared combatants by Israel if they failed to obey instructions to leave northern Gaza.

Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said Israel remained "committed to working with our international partners to ensure aid reaches those who need it" in Gaza. He denied there was a shortage of aid in Gaza and said the "problem is Hamas, which hijacks the aid - stealing, storing and selling it to feed their terror machine".

UN statistics show the number of convoys crossing into Gaza has collapsed this month.