Most humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza through the newly constructed "floating pier" by the United States Navy has allegedly been stolen.
The pier, a port project President Joe Biden announced in March, seeks to facilitate the transfer of aid to Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces, which provides onshore security for the port, connects the port to the shore of Gaza to assist in the distribution of unlimited aid that piles up in the area. After almost two months of construction, the pier was completed on May 16. (Related: U.S. completes installation of makeshift pier in Gaza; first load of humanitarian assistance moves ashore.)
However, several reports claim that most humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza through the new "floating pier" is being stolen. But since it is being stolen by the very people to which it is intended to be distributed, the term "stolen" may not be the best description of what's happening.
According to Reuters, aid deliveries started arriving at the U.S.-constructed pier on May 17 as Israel faces increasing international pressure to permit more supplies into the besieged Gaza Strip. That same day, 10 truckloads of food aid arrived at a World Food Program warehouse in Deir El Balah, Gaza. But on the next day, the United Nations revealed only five truckloads reached the warehouse because desperate and hungry Palestinians looted the others as the trucks made their way to the warehouse through a difficult-to-access area.
For two days after the deliveries arrived at the pier, no aid was delivered to the UN warehouse.
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"They've not seen trucks for a while," a UN official said. "They just basically mounted on the trucks and helped themselves to some of the food parcels. We need to make sure that the necessary security and logistical arrangements are in place before we proceed."
U.S. denies accusations that no aid arrived in Gaza
During a press briefing on May 21, Pentagon Press Secretary, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder denied the accusations that no aid had arrived but acknowledged the difficulties in the delivery.
"The aid is in the assembly areas on shore, right? So it’s – it’s taken – the – so the military – the U.S. military is delivering it to the causeway," he said. "It’s then taken by non-U.S. contractors, driven over onto shore, put into an assembly area, which is where the NGOs that are supporting this effort pick it up and take it for onward distribution."
In the press briefing, Ryder reported that 569 metric tons (627 U.S. tons) of aid had been brought ashore. But then, he cannot verify how much of this aid has reached the organizations responsible for its distribution.
"I don't have a flowchart that shows what aid is expected and what's not. All I know is we're going to continue to push aid, and as I mentioned, more is on the way. So, you're going to see those numbers increase. But I guess my question for you is, I mean, yes, I'm not going to get into rhetorical questions," he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer confirmed on May 22 that most of the aid delivered via the pier was being stolen.
Read more stories about the ongoing conflict in Gaza at IsraelCollapse.com.
Watch this video discussing the creation of the floating pier in Gaza to facilitate the distribution of American relief aid to Palestinians.
This video is from the AllTheWorldsAStage at Brighteon.com.
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UN staff member killed, another injured in another attack as Israel deliberately targets aid workers.
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