But over the past month, Israel has met America’s request to open up more crossings into Gaza.
Cogat – the Israeli military body responsible for humanitarian affairs in the Gaza Strip – announced on Tuesday morning that it had opened a new crossing, Kissufim, towards the south.
A spokesman for Cogat told the BBC that “most aspects [of Blinken’s demands] have been met and those which have not are being discussed, [and] some US demands are for issues that were being resolved already”.
At Zikim, on the Israeli side of the strip’s northern border, I get as close as I’ve been to Gaza in more than 10 years.
I was the BBC’s Gaza correspondent between 2009 and 2013 and know the strip well.
But throughout this war, Israel has not allowed international journalists unrestricted access to Gaza.
Zikim is one of a number of crossings which have been reopened by Israel in recent weeks.
At a photocall on Monday, arranged by Israel’s military, a day before the US deadline, I and other journalists were invited to film around eight aid trucks passing into Gaza.
They were laden with sacks of flour, rice and toilet paper, among other things.
So, aid is getting into Gaza.
But nowhere near enough.
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