Gaza’s 2.2 million residents face months-long food shortages that have exacerbated already-poor health in the region. Humanitarian aid groups have criticized Israel for not letting enough aid trucks into Gaza, keeping critical crossing closed, and creating logistical hurdles.Israel has denied the accusations and has blamed the UN for failing to distribute aid, which the UN disputes.Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said on Tuesday that the goods unloaded on the temporary pier that the US built off the coast of Gaza haven’t reached those in need, per CNN.And this entire project may eventually be a failure if Israel doesn’t create conditions for aid groups to carry out their operations safely, the UN World Food Program said on Tuesday, per the Associated Press.Over the weekend, trucks carrying aid from the pier were intercepted by a crowd, CNN reported.
“I don’t understand this floating pier or what it indicates and what its purpose is,” Mounir Ayad, a Gaza resident, told CNN near the pier. “They say it’s for aid, but people are apprehensive. Is this aid or something else? We know that the US has never supported the Palestinian cause, so it’s implausible that it’s giving us aid without something in return.”Steve Taravella, a WFP spokesperson, told the AP that only five of 16 aid trucks leaving the pier on Saturday had arrived at the warehouse with their cargo.As a result, the deliveries had to be paused on Sunday and Monday, the AP reported, citing the WFP.Although the Pentagon said aid transportation resumed on Tuesday, the UN said that it had no knowledge of any deliveries taking place on that day, per the AP.The temporary pier was only anchored on a beach in Gaza last Thursday, the US Central Command said in a statement on its website.As of Tuesday, 569 metric tons of aid have been delivered to the Gaza port, Ryder said.The Pentagon previously said that the goal was to deliver at least 500 tons — about 90 trucks’ worth — of humanitarian assistance into Gaza daily before scaling up to 150 trucks per day.The US Army previously deployed some of its biggest ships to help build the pier as part of its efforts to better support civilians amid the conflict. Countries including the US have also dropped food in parachutes. In March, five children in Gaza were killed by an aid parcel with a malfunctioning parachute.
