HAMILTON, Canada

The US admitted Tuesday that humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip remain insufficient, while warning that significant gaps in aid access persist.

"Absolutely, more work is needed. We have a long way to go," US envoy Mike Waltz told the UN Security Council, even as he cited what he described as meaningful progress in aid delivery.

"Those who live in the region need cleaner, more durable housing and health services," he said, adding that Washington is "working daily with our Israeli counterparts and other partners across this body to strengthen humanitarian access into and inside of Gaza."

Waltz said the US, along with its partners, "enabled the entry of over 4,000 trucks of humanitarian and other critical goods each week for the past 16 weeks," but conceded that "those numbers have reduced recently."

Pointing to longer-term reconstruction efforts, Waltz said the objective is moving "Gaza beyond 100% dependency on aid," arguing that "Gaza can become a destination for investment and real growth and change this culture of dependency and this absolute dependency on humanitarian aid that it currently endures."

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

Waltz also addressed concerns over the occupied West Bank, stating: "President Trump has been clear: The United States is opposed to annexation of the West Bank."