US delivers over 569mt of humanitarian aid to Gaza via temporary pier

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday (May 21) that more than 569 metric tonnes of humanitarian aid have been delivered to the besieged city of Gaza via a temporary floating pier.

"To date, over 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance has been delivered across the temporary pier to Gaza for further distribution by humanitarian partners. The United States, United Kingdom, UAE, European Union, and many other partners have donated this humanitarian assistance,"CENTCOM wrote.

"The pier is a temporary solution to surge humanitarian assistance to Gaza to meet the urgent needs of the Palestinian people," the command added in a statement.

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Aid shipments started arriving at the US-constructed pier on Friday (May 17). The United Nations confirmed that on Friday, 10 truckloads of food aid transported by UN contractors reached the World Food Programme warehouse in Deir El Balah, Gaza.

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However, only five truckloads made it to the warehouse on Saturday. Eleven others were stolen by Palestinians en route through a difficult-to-access area, reports said citing a UN official. No aid deliveries occurred on Sunday or Monday.

Temporary pier

The temporary pier was pre-assembled at the Israeli port of Ashdod. Later, it was moved to Gaza's shore. Amid this, the Pentagon clarified that no US troops went ashore during this operation.

After extensive discussions, the UN agreed to help coordinate the aid distribution.

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According to Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq,“Given the immense needs in Gaza, the floating dock is intended to supplement existing land crossings of aid into Gaza, including Rafah, Kerem Shalom and Erez. It is not meant to replace any crossings."

The Hamas-run government in Gaza accused the US of attempting to "improve its ugly image" through this initiative. Hamas said, "We hold the Israeli occupation and the U.S. administration fully responsible for the deliberate and premeditated policy of starvation and blockade against our unarmed Palestinian people in Gaza."

The aid delivered to the pier arrives via a maritime route from Cyprus. Here it is first inspected by by Israel. At the floating pier off Gaza coast, the pallets are loaded onto trucks. The trucks are then loaded onto Army boats.

These boats then transport the trucks from the pier to a floating causeway anchored close by the beach. One the aid is dropped off, the trucks return to the boats for the next round of aid transfer.

(With inputs from agencies)