International aid groups have belied claims by the United States that there had been some progress in the humanitarian condition in Gaza and Lebanon as Israel pressed on with striking shelters as it blocked supplies. But the United States has rejected claims by aid groups that the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Lebanon has worsened.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in an update published on Nov 12, reported that every attempt by the UN to access besieged areas of North Gaza governorate with food and health missions this month was “either denied or impeded”.

At least eight humanitarian organizations have released a “scorecard” assessing progress over the past 30 days, after the US secretaries of state and defense issued a letter of warning to Israel on Oct 13 to reverse the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

They concluded that Israel “has failed to comply with its ally’s demands – at enormous human cost for Palestinian civilians in Gaza”. Some of the signatories included Oxfam, Save the Children, Refugees International and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). They urged the US to do more to uphold international law and apply pressure on Israel, including calls for arms sales restrictions.

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“The facts are clear: the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now at its worst point since the war began in October 2023. We are calling on the US government to make an immediate determination that Israel is in violation of its assurances under National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20) and Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act,” the statement by the humanitarian organizations said.

According to the US Code by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the US House of Representatives, no assistance will be furnished to any country when it is made known to the president that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance.

But during a press briefing, Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson of the US State Department, said they have “not made an assessment that the Israelis were in violation of the US law” and claimed that progress had been made. He also said they would “continue to assess the situation and Israel’s compliance with the US law”.

“We’ve seen some progress being made. We would like to see some more changes happen. We believe that had it not been for US intervention these changes may not have ever taken place. But most importantly, we want to see continued progress, and that’s what we’re looking for,” said Patel.

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As of Nov 11, OCHA said, out of 19 such requests in November, 16 were denied by Israeli authorities or otherwise prevented from reaching people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

And of the three missions that were able to enter the besieged area, it said, all faced serious impediments – including delays, the looting of supplies at holding points, the forced offloading of supplies at an Israeli checkpoint, and the detention of a caregiver of three young children during a medical evacuation.

“After several attempts, a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy yesterday managed to reach shelters in Beit Hanoun, in North Gaza Governorate, with two trucks carrying life-saving ready-to-eat rations and wheat flour, and one truck with water supplies. This is the first time in over a month that people in Beit Hanoun have had access to food assistance,” OCHA said.

It said their mission initially planned to take 14 trucks to deliver supplies to shelters in Beit Hanoun, the Indonesian hospital in Jabalya, but the convoy was reduced after delays in receiving authorization. In the end, the food was delivered to Mahdi Al Shoua shelter in Beit Hanoun and a neighboring public shelter.

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Following the delivery of aid, there were reports of intense shelling and Israeli forces surrounding the area where WFP distributed its aid, ordering families to flee, according to OCHA.

“The daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits. Beit Hanoun has been besieged for more than one month. Yesterday, food and water reached shelters, but today, Israeli soldiers forcibly displaced people from those same areas. People under siege now tell us they are afraid that they will be targeted if they receive help,” Joyce Msuya, acting under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told a briefing to the Security Council on the Protection of Civilians in Gaza on Nov 12.

“As I brief you, Israeli authorities are blocking humanitarian assistance from entering North Gaza, where fighting continues, and around 75,000 people remain with dwindling water and food supplies,” she added.

Ahmed Bayram, a media adviser for the Middle East at NRC, told China Daily that the evidence on the ground “is hard to dispute”.

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“Northern Gaza is closer than ever to a famine catastrophe. The ultimatum was meant to pressure Israel to do more to alleviate the suffering. Instead, Israel has imposed a strict blockade on the north, leaving close to 100,000 people fighting for their very survival. Civilians are besieged, starved and continue to be killed,” said Bayram.

“It is fair to say that things have got much worse over the past month. Organizations including the NRC have listed 19 requirements made by the US for Israel to reverse the humanitarian catastrophe. Our assessment shows Israel has failed to fulfill 15 of them, only partially fulfilling the other four. It should not have come to this. Israel must stop weaponizing aid,” he added.