OAN’s Brooke Mallory
3:42 PM – Wednesday, July 10, 2024
According to U.S. officials who reached out to the press, the pier that the U.S. military constructed to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza was put back in. However, it will be utilized for only a few days before being permanently removed.
It would be the last blow to a project that had been beset by inclement weather, unpredictability regarding security matters, and challenges in getting food into the hands of in-need Palestinians.
Middle East correspondents have previously reported that many dropped aid packages have ended up being hoarded, or even worse, have fallen on top of Palestinian civilians, killing or badly injuring them.
Back in March, a journalist reporting from the Al Shati camp, west of Gaza City, said that when airdropped aid packages fell from the sky, at least five people were killed and ten more were injured.
According to the officials, the objective is to transport whatever help has accumulated in Cyprus and on the floating dock offshore to a secure area on Gaza’s coastline. The Army will then disassemble the pier and leave after doing that. The officials noted that they are still ironing out the exact details, so they could only comment on the condition of anonymity.
“The decision comes as Israeli troops make another push deeper into Gaza City, which Hamas says could threaten long-running negotiations over a cease-fire and hostage release, after the two sides had appeared to have narrowed the gaps in recent days,” ABC News reported.
U.S. troops previously disassembled the pier on June 28th and relocated it to the port of Ashdod in Israel.
However, security concerns had already forced the aid’s distribution to halt. On June 9th, one day after the IDF had used the area for airlifts during the rescue of four captives, the UN banned deliveries from the pier.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has always maintained that the pier was meant to be a temporary construct intended to pressure Israel into opening up and improving aid flow through land routes, which are significantly more fruitful than the marine route spearheaded by the United States.
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