Israel-Gaza-Lebanon live updates: US denies giving Israel 'a pass' on Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces ordered residents of several areas in the southern Beirut suburbs to flee their homes on Wednesday morning ahead of an imminent resumption of airstrikes.

The target locations were in the Hezbollah stronghold suburb of Dahiya, which has been the focus of Israeli airstrikes since September.

The Wednesday morning evacuation orders came after a night of heavy bombardment in the area, which the IDF claimed targeted "Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and command centers."

Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,200 people since Oct. 8, 2023. Around a quarter of Lebanon's population -- some 1.2 million people -- have been forced from their homes by Israel's operation, per United Nations figures.

Vedant Patel, the State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, denied at a Tuesday briefing that the U.S. is giving Israel "a pass" after President Joe Biden's administration said it would not withhold weapons earmarked for the country over dire humanitarian conditions inside Gaza.

Tuesday saw the expiry of a 30-day deadline set by the U.S. for Israel to "surge" aid into the devastated Palestinian territory, or risk restrictions on military aid. Patel said Israel met some -- but not all -- U.S. demands set out in an Oct. 13 letter signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

"Certainly I would not view it as giving them a pass, because one, no one is up here -- certainly I'm not -- saying that the situation in Gaza or the humanitarian circumstances are rosy," Patel told journalists at a Tuesday briefing.

"It is a very dire circumstance," he added. "And what we need to see is we need to see these steps acted on. We need to see them implemented."

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

Following a State Department press briefing with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the White House released a statement saying they’ve seen Israel has "taken steps" to improve humanitarian aid in Gaza but "there's more work to be done."

“We have seen, certainly some improvement. And again, we are going to do everything that we can," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News.

"The United States, we are indeed, the largest provider of humanitarian aid, humanitarian assistance into Gaza to relieve the pain of the Palestinian people. And what we're seeing and you're right, it is dire. But those discussions continue, and we're going to be laser-focused on that," Jean-Pierre added.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

At least 62 Palestinians were killed and 147 were wounded in five IDF attacks across the Gaza Strip within the last 48 hours as the situation in the north remains dire, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

The IDF launched strikes on Beit Hanoun in the north, Deir Al Balah and the Al-Mawasi area Tuesday morning, where displaced people were sheltering in west of Khan Yunis.

Several strikes on southern Beirut were reported as well. In Lebanon, at least 3,287 people have been killed and 14,222 wounded since October 2023.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian, Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Ghazi Balkiz