The US military announced it had reinstalled a temporary aid dock in Gaza that had been damaged by bad weather, saying humanitarian aid would transit through the floating dock in the “coming days”.
The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Friday that the pier will enable the delivery of “much-needed humanitarian aid” to Gaza.
The Palestinian territory is on the brink of famine due to a stifling blockade imposed by Israel, a major U.S. ally that receives billions of dollars in aid from Washington each year.
“In the coming days, CENTCOM will facilitate the movement of life-saving food and other emergency supplies in support of the US Agency for International Development,” the US military said in a media post. social.
June 7, 2024 at 4:09 p.m.
On June 7 at approximately 2:15 p.m. (Gaza local time), US Central Command (CENTCOM) successfully re-established the temporary dock in Gaza, allowing the continued delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. . In the coming days, CENTCOM… pic.twitter.com/YMJiCVGvwP– US Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 7, 2024
Humanitarian groups have long warned that the U.S. pier is an ineffective way to deliver aid and cannot replace the opening of land routes, which have been blocked or severely restricted by Israel.
In late May, 20 humanitarian organizations, including Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, called the US-installed dock “cosmetic changes” that fail to adequately resolve the crisis.
“As Israeli attacks on Rafah intensify, the unpredictable flow of aid into Gaza has created the mirage of improved access while the humanitarian response is in reality on the verge of collapse,” they said. the groups in a press release.
“The response capacity of humanitarian groups and medical teams has now virtually collapsed, with temporary solutions such as a ‘floating dock’ and new crossing points having little impact.
For critics, the $230 million pier symbolizes the failures and contradictions of US policy in Gaza.
President Joe Biden’s administration denies that Israel is blocking aid to Gaza, while regularly urging the U.S. ally to allow more aid into the territory.
The United States also provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, including heavy bombs and artillery shells that Biden says have killed Palestinian civilians.
U.S. laws prohibit military aid from being provided to countries that block U.S.-backed humanitarian aid.
Biden announced plans to build the pier in his State of the Union address in March, saying the pier would be able to “receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter.
The project was completed in mid-May, but days later waves washed away the ships supporting the pier, raising questions about the viability of the initiative. By the end of the month, the pier itself had suffered damage and needed repairs.
The pier is expected to be operational again as Israel continues to block the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which previously served as a major artery for aid workers.
Another major problem exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the inability to deliver aid to people once it reaches the territory.
Israel has killed more than 200 aid workers since the war began, according to Save the Children.
In April, an Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen workers who were bringing aid to the territory, sparking global outrage.
Yet Biden has resisted calls to restrict or condition military aid to Israel, often reaffirming his “ironclad” commitment to the U.S. ally.
In recent days, Israel has killed dozens of Palestinians in UN schools in Gaza that served as shelters for displaced people.
An Tel Aviv Tribune visual analysis concluded this week that US weapons were used in an Israeli strike that killed at least 40 people at a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
On Friday, Hamas said Israel’s targeting of schools was part of the ongoing “genocide” against the Palestinians, backed by the United States.
“The administration of US President Joe Biden bears full responsibility for these ongoing crimes by continuing to provide the fascist entity with weapons and ammunition, as well as political and diplomatic support, and by terrorizing and preventing the international justice to assume its role in ending this genocide and holding its perpetrators accountable,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
