WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is stepping up criticism of Israel for Not doing enough to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza. as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.

The government also condemns recent violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by extremist Jewish settlers and says those responsible must be held accountable.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Monday called Israel a “failure” in terms of meeting conditions for improving aid deliveries to Gaza set out in a letter last month to senior Israeli officials by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

He said there were still about nine days left before the deadline expires, but the limited progress so far has been insufficient.

“As of today, the situation has not changed significantly,” Miller told reporters. “We have seen an increase in some measurements. But if we look at the recommendations stipulated in the letter, they have not been fulfilled.”

one day before the american electionsthe Biden administration called on its close ally, with support for Israel a key issue for many voters and the humanitarian crisis for the Palestinians is also a factor for many in the race. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have been competing for Muslim and Arab American voters and Jewish voters in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Among other conditions, Austin and Blinken’s mid-October letter said Israel must allow in a minimum of 350 trucks per day carrying food and other supplies desperately needed by Palestinians besieged by more than a year of war between Israel and Israel. and Hamas. At the end of October, an average of only 71 trucks per day entered Gaza, according to the latest UN figures.

“The results are not good enough today,” Miller said. “They certainly don’t have a pass. …They haven’t implemented all the things that we recommend. Now, with that being said, we are not at the end of the 30-day period.”

He did not say when asked what the United States would do when the deadline arrives next week, only that “we will follow the law.”

Similarly, Austin has been reinforcing “how important it is to ensure that humanitarian assistance can flow and flow more quickly to Gaza” in calls with his Israeli counterpart, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, press secretary, told reporters Monday. from the Pentagon.

The Israeli military agency in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, known as COGAT, He said he had evacuated 72 patients from hospitals in northern Gaza to other medical facilities on Monday and had brought medical supplies as well as fuel, food, water and units of blood.

The head of UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, said over the weekend that “the entire Palestinian population in northern Gaza, especially children, is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and “Continuous bombings.”

Miller also said the United States is studying a decision by the Israeli government to terminate an agreement facilitate the work of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, which the main aid provider in Gaza.

He followed the approval of Israeli laws last week to cut ties with UNRWA, a move that Blinken and Austin opposed in their letter.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that it notified the UN of the cancellation of an agreement dating back to 1967 that facilitates the work of UNRWA. He said UNRWA “is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution.”

Israel alleges that UNRWA It has been infiltrated by Hamas, which the agency denies and says it takes steps to ensure its neutrality.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated that UNRWA is essential and that there is no alternative to its work in the Palestinian territories, said spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

At the same time, Miller said the United States is “deeply concerned” about a recent escalation of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, including several cars set on fire overnight just a few kilometers (miles) away from the Authority’s headquarters. Palestine and attacks against Palestinians who harvest olives, their livestock and other property.

“These violent actions cause intense human suffering to Palestinians and threaten Israel’s security,” Miller said. “It is critical that the government of Israel deter extremist settler violence and take measures to protect all communities from harm in accordance with its international obligations.”

He noted that since the beginning of the year the United States has imposed sanctions against Israeli groups and individuals involved in violence against Palestinian civilians and warned that there will be more sanctions to come.

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AP reporters Ellen Knickmeyer and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.