State Department disputes Israel is ‘restricting’ supplies to Gaza, but wants more aid heading to Palestinians

A State Department spokesman pushed back against the assertion the Israeli government was “restricting” aid to Gaza as reports of dehydration and starvation continue and videos depict humanitarian convoys being targeted in Israel.

Vedant Patel asserted several times at Monday’s briefing it was not fair to say the Israeli government was prohibiting aid into Gaza despite a previous State Department-authored report had found there to be “reasonable” evidence to find that Israeli forces had violated international humanitarian law in various “instances.” If Israel did restrict aid, it would be in violation of the laws.

“We need to see more [aid get into Gaza]. But wanting to see more is very different than dealing with a situation in which a country is restricting the flow of aid. And we have not seen that in this case,” Patel told reporters.

Under the standard set out by international humanitarian law, Patel said, “we were not satisfied with what we were seeing” in aid crossings since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack that provoked hostilities in Gaza. But he reiterated that “we did not see a restriction or prohibition” of aid.

Even today, Patel said, “we don’t see enough going in.” But it doesn’t rise to the level of “restricting” the aid, according to the Biden administration. Confusingly, he also conceded that “certainly” Israel could have taken steps it took to increase the flow of aid “six months ago,” as a reporter suggested.

His remarks come as videos from the Kerem Shalom crossing have shown aid convoys bound for Gaza held up at the Israeli border while gangs of rightwing extremist rioters and thugs attempt to destroy or damage the desperately-needed humanitarian supplies.

The State Department’s increasingly questioned