Israel has said aid is moving into Gaza more quickly, but the amount is disputed and the United Nations says it remains much less than the bare minimum to meet humanitarian needs and a deadly, mass famine in Gaza would likely accelerate violence and ensure a long-term conflict, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate hearing on Tuesday, even as he dismissed accusations that Israel was responsible for an unfolding genocide in the Palestinian enclave. In a call last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Joe Biden threatened to condition U.S. support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza on its taking concrete steps to protect aid workers and civilians. Is Israel using famine as a weapon of “mass destruction “?

