U.S. Army Central Office/Reuters
Transporting humanitarian aid supplies across Trident Pier, a temporary pier for delivering aid supplies off the coast of the Gaza Strip, May 19, 2024, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues near the Gaza coast. truck.
CNN
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Aid unloaded from a temporary jetty built by the United States off the coast of Gaza is not reaching widespread Palestinian populations as the United States works with the United Nations and Israel to identify safe shipping routes within the enclave, the Pentagon says. said. on tuesday.
Several desperate Gazans blocked trucks transporting aid supplies from the pier over the weekend, prompting the United Nations to suspend relief efforts until logistical challenges are resolved.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday that the United States is working with Israel and the United Nations to establish “alternative routes” to safely deliver 569 tons of aid shipped to Gaza since last week. said.
Asked if any aid had been delivered to Gaza residents, Ryder said: “As of today, I don’t think so.” He added that aid supplies had been held at gathering areas on the coast, but as of Tuesday they began to be moved to warehouses for distribution across Gaza as alternative routes were established.
A U.S. official told CNN that the Pentagon and the United Nations are still evaluating how much aid can be kept in staging areas in the Gaza Strip at any given time.
The amount of aid reaching the Gaza coastline from the initial staging area in Cyprus is also below initial Pentagon estimates.
Since Friday, more than 569 tons of humanitarian supplies have been delivered to the Gaza coast via a temporary jetty called JLOTS (Joint Coastal Logistics) and distributed by humanitarian partners, Ryder said. But Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Central Command, said last week that the U.S. initially hopes to transport 500 tons of aid per day through the pier and expand the volume over time.
As trucks began to remove aid delivered from the floating dock over the weekend, a group of Gaza men intercepted it, saying they didn’t believe the aid was actually meant for the Palestinian people, CNN reported.
“I have doubts,” Gaza resident Munir Ayad told CNN near the pier. “I don’t understand the meaning or purpose of this floating pier. They say it’s for aid, but people are worried. Is this aid or something else? I know it’s never happened, so I can’t give you help without getting something in return.”
Ryder acknowledged on Tuesday that some of the initial aid brought into Gaza “was intercepted by some people who took the aid from vehicles.”
“While we fully understand the desperate situation, we are also fully aware of the fact that it is vitally important that we get this aid to those who need it most, and that will continue to be our focus. So I understand that the focus is on why this doesn’t work and why it doesn’t work, but our focus is on making sure that the Palestinian people get the aid. How can we tackle this?”
In April, the Pentagon said it was aiming to deliver about 500 tons of aid (the equivalent of 90 truckloads) per day to starving people in the Gaza Strip, with up to 150 truckloads per day. Announced. The humanitarian situation in the enclave continues to deteriorate, and a pier finally docked in Gaza last week.
Sonali Korde, assistant administrator for humanitarian assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said last week that the situation in the Gaza Strip “is not improving, and the past two weeks have seen key border crossings closed.” It is important that we see the movement of aid. 2.2 million people, the entire population of Gaza, face severe food insecurity.”
The United States faces a number of challenges regarding the pier, including plans surrounding Israeli operations in Rafah, which could raise security concerns. The initial issue of establishing who will transport aid supplies from the pier to Gaza, as the United States has repeatedly said there are no U.S. troops in boots on the ground. Additionally, logistical challenges such as ocean and weather conditions may continue to limit its use.
Ryder said Tuesday that the U.S. continues to push for aid to be delivered by other means, including by land. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin continues to consult with Israeli colleagues about efforts to deliver aid by land, including via Rafah, he said.
When National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli officials as part of a trip to the Middle East over the weekend, Israel laid out its latest thoughts on a possible invasion of Rafah, during which the U.S. The side asked many “tough questions.” According to government officials. The two sides will continue these discussions, the official said, but noted that Israel is incorporating U.S. feedback and concerns as it moves forward with these plans. The official added that both sides share a common goal of destroying Hamas.
The official said that as part of the talks with Israel, U.S. officials also made a series of “specific requests” for humanitarian assistance that they agreed to implement.
“I think the talks were very constructive and we look forward to seeing some of the agreements come to fruition in the coming days,” the official said.
More than 370 pallets of aid were distributed to Gaza on Tuesday alone, this person said.
The United States is also working with the Jordanian Air Force to airdrop large numbers of humanitarian aid supplies to Gaza. It is unclear with what regularity they will continue. Ryder said Tuesday that this is “an option available to us,” but declined to say whether the effort would continue “in the future.”
The last humanitarian airdrop announced by U.S. Central Command took place on May 9th.
“This is not just a U.S. military effort, it’s a multi-agency effort. It’s an international effort. We understand the dire need the Palestinian people have right now,” Ryder said of the aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. “We will continue to work to get them what they need.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Sam Fossum, Kayla Tauche and MJ Lee contributed to this report.
