The US military has announced that it has reinstated a temporary aid dock in Gaza that had been damaged by bad weather, saying humanitarian assistance will flow through the floating dock in the “coming days.”
The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday that the pier will allow the delivery of “much-needed humanitarian aid” to Gaza.
The Palestinian territory has been on the brink of famine due to the suffocating blockade by Israel, an important US ally that receives billions of dollars in aid from Washington each year.
“In the coming days, CENTCOM will facilitate the movement of vital food and other emergency supplies, in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development,” the U.S. military said in a social media post.
June 7, 2024 at 16:09
At approximately 2:15 pm (Gaza local time) on June 7, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) successfully re-established the temporary dock in Gaza, allowing for the continued delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. . In the coming days, CENTCOM… pic.twitter.com/YMJiCVGvwP— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 7, 2024
Aid groups have long warned that the U.S. dock is an ineffective way to deliver aid and cannot replace opening land routes, which had been blocked or severely restricted by Israel.
In late May, 20 aid organizations, including Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, called the dock installed by the United States part of “cosmetic changes” that fail to adequately address the crisis.
“As Israeli attacks intensify in Rafah, the unpredictable trickle of aid into Gaza has created a mirage of better access, while the humanitarian response is actually on the brink of collapse,” the groups said in a statement.
“The response capacity of aid groups and medical teams has virtually collapsed, and temporary solutions such as a 'floating dock' and new crossing points have little impact.”
For critics, the $230 million pier has come to symbolize the failures and contradictions of US policy in Gaza.
President Joe Biden's administration denies that Israel is blocking aid to Gaza, while regularly urging the U.S. ally to allow more aid into the territory.
The United States also provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, including heavy bombs and artillery shells that Biden has admitted have killed Palestinian civilians.
U.S. law prohibits military aid from reaching countries that block U.S.-backed humanitarian assistance.
Biden announced plans to build the pier in his State of the Union address in March, saying the pier could “accommodate large shipments of food, water, medicine and temporary shelter.”
The project was completed in mid-May, but days later, waves washed away the ships holding the dock, raising questions about the viability of the initiative. At the end of the month, the pier itself was damaged and required repairs.
The pier will be operational again as Israel continues to block the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which previously served as a major artery for humanitarian and aid workers.
Another major problem worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the inability to deliver aid to people once it reaches the territory.
Israel has killed more than 200 aid workers since the start of the war, according to Save the Children.
In April, an Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen workers delivering aid in the territory, sparking global outrage.
Still, Biden has resisted calls to restrict or condition military aid to Israel, often reaffirming his “ironclad” commitment to the US ally.
In recent days, Israel has killed dozens of Palestinians at UN schools in Gaza that serve as shelters for displaced people.
An Al Jazeera visual analysis concluded this week that American weapons were used in an Israeli attack that killed at least 40 people at a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
On Friday, Hamas said attacks on schools by Israel are part of the ongoing US-backed “genocide” against Palestinians.
“The administration of US President Joe Biden bears full responsibility for these ongoing crimes by continuing to supply the fascist entity with weapons and ammunition, as well as political and diplomatic support, and by terrorizing and obstructing international justice from assuming its role in stop this genocide and hold its perpetrators accountable,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
