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Aug. 16 (UPI) — The Trump administration won’t take control of the Washington police force, but more military personnel are being deployed to make the nation’s capital safer for residents, workers and visitors.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Saturday announced he is deploying between 300 and 400 of the state’s National Guard members to Washington to help “restore cleanliness and safety.”

“West Virginia is proud to stand with President [Donald] Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” Morrisey said.

He called the deployment a “show of cooperation to public safety and regional cooperation” that “aligns with our values of service and dedication to our communities.”

The W.V. National Guard will remain under the command of Adj. Gen. Maj. Jim Seward while deployed in the nation’s capital.

Morrisey’s deployment order comes after Justice Department and Washington police officials on Friday agreed the capital would maintain control of its police force of 3,200 officers.

U.S. Columbia District Judge Ana Reyes, during an emergency hearing on Friday, encouraged attorneys for the Justice Department and District of Columbia to negotiate a short-term agreement to temporarily stop the Drug Enforcement Administration from taking control of the city’s police force.

The resulting compromise agreement will continue while Reyes considers arguments made by the Justice Department and capital attorneys, who filed the federal case on Friday.

Reyes suggested Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration likely exceeded the authority that is provided by the 1973 Home Rule Act, which made Washington a self-governed federal district.

President Joe Biden appointed Reyes to the court in 2023.

“A hostile takeover of our police force is not going to happen,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said during a Friday news conference.

Capital Police Chief Pamela Smith “remains in control of the police department under the supervision of our mayor,” Schwalb said.

Bondi said the Justice Department will continue working with local officials to address concerns of criminal activity in Washington.

“We remain committed to working with Mayor [Muriel] Bowser, who is dedicated to ensuring the safety of residents, workers and visitors in Washington,” Bondi said.

Bondi on Thursday said an “emergency police commissioner” would approve the city’s Metropolitan Police Department policies and ensure the police force helps with federal law enforcement make immigration-related arrests, The Hill reported.

Bondi had appointed DEA Administrator Terrence Cole to oversee the Washington MPD, but his appointment is on hold and might not happen.

The Trump administration’s effort to police Washington’s streets and control its police force caused concern among many of its younger residents.

“I understand public safety is important, but they look more like they’re bullying us than being our community guardians,” a 16-year-old named Ali told NPR. “It’s hard not to feel intimidated.”

Another 16-year-old named Makayla blamed a relatively small group of juveniles for causing trouble that triggered the federal intervention in the capital.

“As a teenager, you want to go out and enjoy yourself,” she told NPR. “But all y’all want to do is fight.”

Trump cited juvenile crime as a tipping point in his decision to have his administration intervene in capital policing to make it safer for all for residents, workers and visitors.

Aid agencies have continued to criticise Israel after it announced it had sent a small convoy of trucks carrying vital supplies into Gaza.

COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory, confirmed on Friday that 107 trucks had entered the enclave the previous day, loaded with flour, medicine and equipment.

However, aid agencies and others have condemned Israel’s policy to allow only minimal volumes of aid into Gaza, which the Israeli military has been blockading for close to three months.

They insist that the supplies are nowhere near enough for the millions trapped in the territory, and add that even the small amounts making it in are not making it to people due to Israeli attacks and looting.

The shipments follow Israel’s announcement on Sunday that it would permit “minimal” humanitarian aid into the territory for the first time since implementing a total blockade in early March.

Amid warnings of mounting famine and humanitarian disaster, Israel said that the decision to allow aid into Gaza was driven by diplomatic concerns.

Global outrage has been rising as the 11-week siege has progressed, leaving Gaza’s 2.1 million people on the brink of starvation, with medicine and fuel supplies exhausted.

The United Nations’ Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has branded the aid deliveries “a drop in the ocean” and warned that far greater access is required to address the escalating crisis.

The UN estimates that at least 500 trucks of aid are needed daily. Since Monday’s announcement, only 300 trucks have made it in, including Thursday’s convoy, according to COGAT.

Attacks and looting

Aid agencies also state that even the aid that is being allowed into Gaza is not reaching people.

“Significant challenges in loading and dispatching goods remain due to insecurity, the risk of looting, delays in coordination approvals and inappropriate routes being provided by Israeli forces that are not viable for the movement of cargo,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Hamas officials said on Friday that Israeli air strikes had killed at least six Palestinians guarding aid trucks against looters.

An umbrella network of Palestinian aid groups said that just 119 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Israel eased its blockade on Monday, and that distribution has been hampered by looting, including by armed groups of men.

“They stole food meant for children and families suffering from severe hunger,” the network said in a statement.

The UN’s World Food Programme said on Friday that 15 of its trucks were looted in southern Gaza while en route to WFP-supported bakeries.

‘Most people living off food scraps’

Inside Gaza, the situation continues to deteriorate.

Dr Ahmed al-Farrah of Nasser Hospital told Al Jazeera that the health system is overwhelmed.

“Most people now live off food scraps of what they had in stock,” he said. “I predict there will be many victims because of food insecurity.”

Palestinian Health Ministry officials said on Thursday that at least 29 children and elderly people have died in recent days from starvation-related causes, with thousands more at risk.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s  spokesperson said aid is being distributed via UN mechanisms, but stressed the amount reaching Gaza “is not enough”.

The leaders of Britain, France and Canada warned Israel on Monday their countries would take action, including possible sanctions, if Israel did not lift aid restrictions.

“The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law,” a joint statement released by the British government said.

“We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions,” it added.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused the trio of being “on the wrong side of history” and “supporting “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.