WASHINGTON, November 13. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made a decision to continue supplying arms to Israel after Washington’s deadline for improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza expires, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said, citing US officials.

"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has decided not to suspend military assistance to Israel after the Israeli government took some steps to improve the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the State Department said," he wrote. According to the journalist, "some of Blinken's senior aides and senior White House officials thought the ultimatum was effective and pushed Israel to change course. They advocated for continuing to press the Israelis on the issue instead of suspending weapons supplies."

US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel said at a news briefing that Israel has taken several steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in response to US demands. "At this time we haven't made an assessment that Israel is in violation of US law. We are going to continue to watch and assess their compliance with US law," he added. Patel said. "If we don't continue to see steps in the appropriate direction we will enforce US law," the spokesman emphasized.

On October 15, the US Department of State confirmed that Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israeli leaders on October 13, warning that shipments of US weapons to Israel could be affected if Israel does not take steps within 30 days to improve the situation in Gaza.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, followed by a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.