By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - Outgoing US President Joe Biden hosted his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, at the White House on Tuesday as a deadline for Tel Aviv to significantly increase aid in the besieged Gaza Strip is set to expire.
Biden, in remarks in the Oval Office, assured Herzog of his "ironclad" commitment to Israel, saying the nations "share a deep a friendship." He did not respond to questions from reporters.
Herzog, meanwhile, said it was a "great honor" to be hosted at the White House, but noted somber news that two people were killed in northern Israel after rockets struck the coastal city of Nahariya.
"This is what we’re going through from Lebanon, Mr. President, and you know it all too well. We're fighting hard, we’re protecting our people," he said. "I know that you're working very hard to make sure that this war will end and that will there will be, first and foremost security for the people, of Israel, as well as for the people in Lebanon.”
Israel has been carrying out ground operations in Lebanon since October, attacking targets it said are tied to Hezbollah. But Israeli forces have repeatedly destroyed entire border towns in controlled demolitions, and have been repeatedly seen in video on social media destroying and ransacking civilian property.
Nearly 3,300 people have been killed and an excess of 14,200 injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023 when Israel and the Lebanese group began exchanging cross-border fire, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Israel announced Tuesday it had begun a “second phase” of its war in Lebanon with the aim of “advancing toward Hezbollah’s second defensive line.”
Israeli newspaper, Maariv, said the purpose of the operation is “to dismantle Hezbollah formations in the area and apply pressure on Hezbollah regarding political settlement negotiations in Lebanon.”
In Gaza, Israel has dramatically escalated its war in the north of the coastal enclave amid increasingly stringent restrictions on deliveries of clean water and food.
The Biden administration gave Israel a 30-day deadline that is set to expire Tuesday for Israel to surge all international aid throughout Gaza, including by allowing a minimum of 350 trucks to enter the coastal territory per day, and ensuring that commercial corridors and those run by Jordan operate at "full and continuous capacity."
They warned that if conditions are not improved Israel would face restrictions under US law on the further provision of military aid. That comes after the Biden administration has sent billions of dollars in lethal assistance to Israel amid its onslaught against Gaza.
Aid groups said Tuesday that Israel has fallen far short of meeting the demand, and has in many ways gone in the opposite direction.
"Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza," a group of eight organizations, including OXFAM, Save the Children and Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a 19-page report.
"People are being starved in Gaza: Israeli military operations have denied them critical food aid and basic necessities, which has, in turn, caused conditions approaching famine for 800,000 Palestinian civilians across Gaza," they added.
The White House has yet to comment on the matter