Reports indicate that most of the aid being delivered to Gaza through the newly constructed “floating pier” by the U.S. military is being stolen.
This pier, which was announced by President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address, was completed last week. The Pentagon reported on Tuesday that 569 metric tons of aid has been delivered ashore so far.
According to Reuters on Tuesday, “no aid has been delivered to a U.N. warehouse from a U.S.-built pier for two days.”
Reuters added:
The U.N. reported that 10 truckloads of food aid—transported by U.N. contractors from the pier site—arrived on Friday at a World Food Programme warehouse in Deir El Balah in Gaza.
However, on Saturday, only five truckloads reached the warehouse as 11 others were looted by Palestinians during transit through an area that a U.N. official said has been difficult to access for humanitarian aid.
…
No aid was received by the U.N. from the pier on Sunday or Monday. “We need to ensure that the necessary security and logistical arrangements are in place before we proceed,” stated the U.N. official.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder clarified that it would be incorrect to say that no aid had arrived at all. However, he could not specify how the U.S. would ensure the delivery of aid from the pier.
“The aid is in the assembly areas on shore. It’s delivered by the U.S. military to the causeway,” he explained. “From there, non-U.S. contractors transport it over to shore, placing it into an assembly area where NGOs supporting this effort pick it up for distribution.”
Ryder could not confirm how much of the estimated 569 metric tons of aid delivered to the pier had actually been received by aid organizations.
