In this photo provided by U.S. Central Command, humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
AP/U.S. Central Command
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AP/U.S. Central Command
WASHINGTON — The first shipment of aid from a U.S.-built terminal arrived in Gaza on Saturday, the U.S. military said, restarting sea-based shipments to the troubled Palestinians as storm damage requires repairs to the project. Efforts to deliver supplies.
The pier built by the US military only operated for about a week before it was blown away by strong winds and huge waves on May 25.
About 1.1 million pounds (492 metric tons) of humanitarian aid arrived in Gaza through the terminal on Saturday, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. It reiterated that no U.S. military personnel were disembarked in Gaza. USAID works with the United Nations World Food Program and its humanitarian partners in Gaza to distribute food and other aid from U.S.-operated terminals.
The delivery came on the same day that Israel launched a fierce air and ground attack to free four hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7 attack that launched the Gaza war. Gaza health officials said at least 210 Palestinians died, including children.
U.S. Central Command disputed the social media claims on Twitter and said neither the dock nor any of its equipment, personnel or other assets were used in the Israeli operation. The report states that Israel used the area south of the terminal to “safely repatriate the hostages.”
The U.S. military said: “The temporary docks on the coast of Gaza have only one purpose, and that is to help deliver more urgently needed life-saving aid to Gaza.”
USAID said in a separate statement that no humanitarian workers were involved in the Israeli operation.
“Humanitarian aid workers in Gaza operate under extremely difficult and unsafe conditions and must be protected,” the agency said in an email. “Aid workers act in accordance with the principles of humanitarianism, neutrality, impartiality and independence. in principle.”
Aid shipments through the terminal provide a way for Palestinians trapped in the eight-month Israel-Hamas war to obtain much-needed food and other emergency supplies. Israeli restrictions on land crossings and fighting have significantly restricted the entry of food and other vital supplies into the territory.
The damage to the dock is the latest stumbling block to the plan and the ongoing fight to feed hungry Palestinians. Three U.S. service members were injured, one seriously, and four ships were stranded by the waves.
Early efforts to move aid from the docks into Gaza were also disrupted as crowds broke through convoys of trucks used by aid agencies to transport food, snatching many goods off trucks before they could reach U.N. warehouses. Officials responded by rerouting travel and aid began to reach those in need.
Lt. Gen. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters Friday that lessons learned from the first week of operations led him to believe more aid can now be provided.
He said the goal is to move 1 million pounds of food and other supplies through the terminals to Gaza every two days. Central Command said Saturday that about 3.5 million pounds of humanitarian aid has been transported through the sea route so far.
Relief agencies have urged Israel to reopen land routes to deliver all needed aid. Israel said it had allowed hundreds of trucks to enter through southern checkpoints and accused the United Nations of not distributing aid. The United Nations says it is often unable to withdraw aid because of the security situation.
The United Nations agency has warned that if hostilities continue, more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza could suffer the worst levels of hunger by the middle of next month.
President Joe Biden’s administration has said from the beginning that the terminal is not a complete solution and that any amount of aid would help.
Democrat Joe Biden announced the U.S. military’s plan to build the dock during his State of the Union address in early March, and the military said it would take about 60 days to install and put it into use. On May 17, the first trucks carrying aid supplies to the Gaza corridor rolled off the dock, which took a little longer than planned.
The initial cost estimate was $320 million, but the Pentagon said last week that the price had been reduced to $230 million due to a British contribution and lower-than-expected costs for contracting trucks and other equipment.
