Biden says Israel must ensure new aid reaches Gaza 'without delay'

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Joe Biden said Israel must work to ensure that about $1 billion in new US humanitarian assistance reaches the Gaza Strip "without delay" as he signed a new spending package into law that also includes more than $16 billion for Israel.

Biden said his administration would "immediately" use the funding to "surge" additional assistance into the war-torn enclave, including new supplies of food, clean water and medicine.

"Israel must make sure all this aid reaches the Palestinians in Gaza without delay. And everything we do is guided by the ultimate goal of bringing this hostages home, securing a cease-fire and setting the conditions for an enduring peace," he told reporters at the White House.

Biden made the remarks after signing the spending package into law less than one day after the Senate moved to approve it.

The bill includes more than $60.8 billion for Ukraine, $16.6 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Indo-Pacific allies to counter China. The bill also allocates nearly $9.1 billion for humanitarian efforts worldwide, including in war-torn Gaza where Israel's onslaught has caused widespread devastation and suffering.

Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip has displaced more than 75% of the coastal enclave's estimated 2.3 million residents and resulted in over 34,000 deaths, according to Gaza health officials. The vast majority of the dead have been women and children.

Many of the survivors have been displaced to Rafah in southern Gaza where Israel continues to pledge an offensive on the city in defiance of widespread international opposition, including from the US.

Concerns have mounted that taking the war there will lead to a significant increase in civilian casualties, and further displace Palestinians who have nowhere else to go amid continued Israeli restrictions on the flow of badly-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza.