Israel Vows to Enable More Aid for Gaza; Blinken Says ‘Real Test Is Results’

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said that the United States was looking for “results” in response to news that Israel would open up more routes for aid to flow into Gaza.

The Israeli decision to allow aid to enter through new routes came after President Biden made it clear in a call with the Israeli prime minister on Thursday that U.S. support for Israel would depend on its next steps to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

Mr. Blinken called Israel’s agreement to establish new aid routes “positive developments” on Friday, but he immediately added the United States would be “looking to see” if Israel does make allowing more aid into the enclave a priority. One measure of Israel’s commitment, he said, will be “the number of trucks that are actually getting in on a sustained basis.”

“The real test is results, and that’s what we’re looking to see in the coming days and the coming weeks,” he told a news conference in Brussels on Friday, adding “really, the proof is in the results.”

Israel has been under rising pressure from U.S. officials and humanitarian agencies to increase the number of crossings into Gaza for aid, as the United Nations warns that a famine is looming.

On Thursday, President Biden stepped up the pressure in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying future U.S. support for Israel depended on how it addresses his concerns about a high civilian death toll and widespread hunger.