The $320 million pier that President Joe Biden ordered built to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza has so far only delivered aid to those who looted trucks filled with goods.
No aid made it from the pier to the main Palestinian settlements, where food deliveries have been disrupted as Israel seeks to root out Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, according to CNN.
The pier was declared open for business Friday and offloaded goods from ships that had docked there. All told, 16 trucks began their journey, but only five made it, according to Reuters. The other 11 trucks were ransacked by Gaza residents before they reached their destination.
The Gaza aid pier may be the most expensive piece of performance art ever created. This was destined to fail. Our tax dollars hard at work. For Hamas. https://t.co/wma3Gzrilt
— Bill Roggio (@billroggio) May 20, 2024
“Crowds had stopped the trucks at various points along the way. There was … what I think I would refer to as self-distribution,” U.N. representative Stephane Dujarric said, according to Fox News.
“They’ve not seen trucks for a while,” Reuters quoted a U.N. official it did not name as saying. “They just basically mounted on the trucks and helped themselves to some of the food parcels.”
Since the looting, no trucks have rolled.
“We need to make sure that the necessary security and logistical arrangements are in place before we proceed,” the U.N. official said, according to Reuters.
Are you surprised that aid has not reached the people of Gaza?
Footage shows hundreds of Palestinians looting aid convoy in Gaza, blocking delivery from US pier https://t.co/QsVC9mzM7o via @Yahoo #democrats #antisemitism
— Hasilskilt (@Hasilkilt1) May 22, 2024
Pentagon representative Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder indicated Tuesday the pier had not accomplished much yet, according to CNN.
Asked if any aid had been delivered, Ryder said, “As of today, I do not believe so.”
Ryder said the aid that arrived to date has been “intercepted by some people who took that aid off those vehicles.”
“Fully appreciating the desperation, but also fully appreciating the fact that it is very important that this aid get to the people who need it most, that’s going to continue to be the focus. So I understand, you know, the focus on why is this not working, or why is that not working, but what we’re focused on is how we can work to ensure that the Palestinian people get the aid,” he said.
He said the U.S., Israel and the UN are trying to create “alternative routes” to distribute the aid.
Ryder said 569 metric tons of aid had been delivered, short of what Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said last week when he set a goal of 500 tons per day to be delivered.
Due to logistical issues in distributing the aid coming in through the pier, US, Israeli and UN officials are discussing “alternative routes” for the safe movement of staff and cargo, Ryder adds
— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) May 21, 2024
Ryder tried to be upbeat, saying the military was taking a “crawl, walk, run” approach, solving problems as they arise, according to The New York Times.
“So I think you’re going to see as we work together the amount of aid increase and the ability to get it distributed increase,” he said.
A representative of the World Food Program was less hopeful.
“Unless we receive the necessary clearance and coordination to use additional routes, this operation may not be successful,” WFP representative Steve Taravella said, according to the Associated Press.
