More than a month has passed since the US gave Israel a deadline to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza or face consequences.

The 30-day deadline expired on Tuesday but the administration of President Joe Biden has said it will not limit arms transfers to Israel as it had threatened to do so. 

Tariq Habash, who was the first of Biden’s political appointees to resign from the administration due to Washington’s support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, said the backtracking is no surprise.

He said it seemed the ultimatum was merely an attempt to reassure the Democratic Party base not to worry about Gaza. 

“This felt like a political ploy that this was not something this administration was ever actually serious about enforcing. The reality is, despite missing on pretty much every single metric, we have no intention of enforcing US law,” Habash told Al Jazeera. 

He added. “The administration is not doing what needs to be done to ensure that lifesaving aid reaches Palestinian civilians.”