US envoy to the UN admits humanitarian efforts in Gaza Strip are inadequate

Humanitarian aid truck for the Gaza Strip. (Twitter/@WFP)

JAKARTA - The United States on Tuesday acknowledged that humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, are not adequate, warning that there are still significant gaps in accessing aid.

"Of course, there is still much work to be done. We still have a long way to go," US Representative Mike Waltz told the UN Security Council, although he mentioned what he described as significant progress in delivering aid.

"Those living in the area need cleaner and more durable housing and health services," Waltz said, adding that Washington "works every day with our Israeli colleagues and other partners across this body to strengthen humanitarian access to and within Gaza."

Waltz said the US, along with its partners, "allowed the entry of more than 4,000 trucks of humanitarian goods and other essential goods every week for the past 16 weeks," but acknowledged that "the number has recently decreased."

Pointing to long-term reconstruction efforts, Waltz said the goal was to "move Gaza beyond its 100 percent dependence on aid," arguing that "Gaza can become a destination for real investment and growth and change the culture of dependence and absolute dependence on the humanitarian aid it currently experiences."

He cited pledges of "more than $7 billion in support" from several regional countries, describing the contributions as "real efforts, real money."

Waltz also responded to concerns over the occupied West Bank, stating: "President Trump has been clear: the United States opposes annexation of the West Bank."