More than 569 tons of humanitarian aid has arrived in the Gaza Strip over a U.S.-built floating pier, but none of it has been delivered to Palestinian civilians, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
The structure was built by the US military to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn region and was completed last Thursday.
However, several trucks carrying food and other supplies to the warehouse were “blocked” on the Gaza mainland.
“We expect that assistance will get here within the next few days, of course, conditions permitting,” Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. He told reporters on TuesdayHe claimed that aid is “flowing in” but has not yet been distributed to Palestinians.
Asked whether any aid had actually been delivered as of Tuesday, Ryder said: “I don’t think so.”
A Pentagon spokesperson noted that some of the trucks operated by non-governmental organizations tasked with delivering aid to other transit points were vandalized by looters.
“Some of the relief supplies that were initially delivered were grabbed by some people and removed from the vehicles as they continued along the route,” Ryder said.
“There were then discussions to secure alternative routes for delivery to the warehouse,” he added.
On Saturday, the United Nations World Food Program, one of the NGOs involved in the complex logistics, tried to transport aid from the coast to the warehouse with 16 trucks, but only five of them reached their destination. That’s what it means. Associated Press.
UNWFP officials said 11 trucks were “commanded” by the crowd and one Palestinian was shot dead at the horrific scene.
As part of the operation, humanitarian supplies will first be transported to Cyprus, where they will be loaded onto ships destined for the floating pier, before reaching the Palestinians.
Aid supplies will then be transported by U.S. military personnel to the causeway that connects the pier to the mainland.
From that point, it is transported ashore by a non-U.S. contractor and placed in an assembly area.
NGOs would then pick up the pallets and deliver them to warehouses, where they would ostensibly be delivered to civilians in need.
“When it comes to NGO safety, that is an internal decision for all NGOs,” Ryder said of reports of violent looting. “So I can’t really talk to them.”
Pentagon officials said they expected the amount of aid distributed to increase but urged patience.
“We have been clear from the beginning that our approach is to crawl, walk and run, develop processes and procedures, and ensure we have this system in place, taking into account the security situation.” Ryder said.
“So as we work together, I think you’ll see the amount of aid increase and the ability to distribute it increase,” he added.
“But we never said it would be easy. I mean, again, the situation we’re dealing with here is difficult.”
President Biden announced plans for the temporary port during his State of the Union address in March, saying the pier would allow food, water, medicine and temporary shelter to reach the besieged Hamas-controlled enclave “every day.”
