The much needed aid has finally been delivered into Gaza from a newly repaired US-built pier, US Central Command announced on Saturday (June 8).
The pier constructed by the US Military was only functioning for about a week before it was broken apart in high winds and heavy seas on May 25.
The damaged segment was reconnected to the beach in Gaza on Friday (June 7) after being repaired at an Israeli port.
CENTCOM delivered around 1.1 million pounds of aid through the pier on Saturday. This brings the total amount of aid delivered since the pier’s reopening in mid-May to 3.5 million pounds.
The delivery arrived on the same day that Israel launched a air and ground assault on the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, rescuing four hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack that initiated the war in Gaza.
The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said at least 210 Palestinians were killed during the raid, and more than 400 injured.
While the video circulating online on Saturday shows an Israel Defense Forces helicopter taking off from the beach with the US pier in the backdrop.
However, the CBS News quoted US officials saying that the US pier was not used in the IDF operation. A US official explained that the helicopter landed south of the facility on a beach but not within the cordoned area of the pier.
“The pier facility was not utilised in today’s operation to rescue hostages in Gaza. Instead, an area south of the facility was used to safely return the hostages to Israel,” a US official stated.
“Any claims to the contrary are false. The temporary pier on the Gaza coast was established solely to facilitate the delivery of urgently needed lifesaving assistance into Gaza.”
In a statement later on Saturday, US Central Command reiterated that “pier facility, including its equipment, personnel, and assets were not used in the operation to rescue hostages today in Gaza.”
The repair brings back online one way to get desperately needed food and other emergency supplies to Palestinians trapped in Gaza. Israeli restrictions on land crossings amid on-going war have greatly limited the flow of food and other essential supplies into the territory.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command, informed reporters on Friday that the lessons learned from the first week of operations have made him confident that greater amounts of aid can now be delivered.
Cooper said the goal was to get to 1 million pounds of food and other supplies through the pier into Gaza every two days.
Before the pier broke apart in the storm, more than 2.4 million pounds of aid were delivered.
It may be mentioned here, the US Agency for International Development is working with the UN World Food Program and their humanitarian partners working in Gaza to hand out food, emergency treatment for starving children, and other aid via the sea route.
The UN agencies have warned that over one million Palestinians in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by the middle of next month if hostilities continue.
(With inputs from agencies)
