New American pier being crossed by trucks into Gaza

On Friday, trucks carrying crucial aid for Gaza entered the area for the first time through a recently opened US port. This happened after Israel’s restrictions and fighting made it hard to bring food and other things to the people there.

The delivery is the first one in a plan that American military officials think could increase to 150 truckloads every day. At the same time, Israel continues to attack the southern city of Rafah in its seven-month fight against Hamas. At the White House, a person named John Kirby said that the initial delivery of aid included more than 300 pallets, which were given to the UN to distribute.

Kirby said the US has received signs that some of the help was already going to Gaza.

The US, UN, and aid groups are saying that the floating pier project is not enough to replace bringing in food, water, and fuel to Gaza by land. Before the fighting started, over 500 trucks came into the Palestinian area every day.

The operation might not be successful because there is a risk of attack by militants, there are many logistical problems, and there isn’t enough fuel for the aid trucks because of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Attackers killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others in southern Israel. The attacks by Israel have killed over 35,000 people in Gaza, according to local health officials. Many others have also been killed in the West Bank.

Help organizations are saying they don’t have enough food in the southern part of Gaza, and the UN World Food Program says there is already a famine in the northern part of Gaza.

Soldiers finished putting in the floating platform on Thursday, and the US military’s Central Command said the first aid went into Gaza at 9 am Friday. It was reported that no American soldiers landed during the operation.

The Pentagon said there will be no extra supplies in the distribution process. The US wants the United Nations, using the World Food Program, to be responsible for the aid after it leaves the pier. This will involve making sure that empty trucks arrive and get registered, overseeing the transfer of goods from the floating dock to the trucks, sending the trucks to different warehouses in Gaza, and giving the supplies to aid groups for delivery.

On Friday evening, the WFP announced that supplies brought to the pier were taken to their storage in Deir al-Balah and are now ready to be picked up and given out.

The UK sent aid to Gaza in the first shipment, which included 8,400 kits to make temporary shelters using plastic sheets. It said that more help is coming soon, including 2,000 shelter kits, 900 tents, five forklift trucks, and 9,200 hygiene kits.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this is the result of a huge effort from many countries working together. “We understand that traveling by sea is not the only solution. ” We want more land routes to open, like the Rafah crossing, so we can get more aid to people who really need it.

The UN agency that helps with humanitarian aid said it’s good to start the operation, but it can’t replace delivering aid by land.

Jens Laerke, who speaks for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that everyone involved in the operation agrees that any help for Gaza is good, no matter how it gets there. He said this to reporters in Geneva on Friday. Helping people in Gaza should not rely on a faraway floating platform.

Anastasia Moran, who works for the International Rescue Committee, says that the pier is taking attention away from the growing humanitarian crisis.

In the last few months, the maritime route has been using a lot of time, energy, and resources. This is happening at a time when aid has not been increased. “Now that the sea route is open and working well, the land crossings are closed. ”

Between May 6 and May 15, 154 trucks brought food and 156 trucks brought flour into Gaza from Israel. This happened while Israel was attacking Rafah. Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson, shared this information on Friday. This week, Haq said that hardly any fuel is making its way through.

Israel is worried that Hamas will use fuel in the war, but it says it is not stopping any humanitarian aid from coming in. It says the UN is responsible for the slow distribution of goods in Gaza. Israel has opened two crossings to send aid to the north of the territory, because the US asked them to.

Hamas attacks at Kerem Shalom crossing have caused problems with delivering goods. The UN says that it has been difficult to deliver aid because of fighting, Israeli firing, and bad security conditions. Israeli people have also had angry protests that stopped aid from being delivered.

Israel took control of the Rafah border crossing near the Egyptian border to fight against Hamas. This has led to concerns about the safety of civilians and has also blocked the main way for aid to enter the Gaza Strip.

US President Joe Biden said to start building the pier, which will probably cost $320 million. The aid will be brought by boats to a port made by Israelis near Gaza City. The US has worked closely with Israel to keep ships and workers on the beach safe.

Last month, people were worried about the safety of aid workers after an Israeli attack killed seven workers from World Central Kitchen. Their trip had been planned out.