None of the aid that has passed through the pier built by the United States in Gaza has been distributed to Palestinians yet, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
According to Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, 569 metric tons of aid from many countries had made it across the temporary pier and there is “more aid on the way.”
Ryder said the aid is in Gaza for humanitarian partners to distribute.
President Biden announced the floating pier in his State of the Union address in March. It was completed recently, and the military said the first aid shipment was driven across the pier last Friday, ramping up the United States’ response to the conflict.
On Saturday, reports of hungry crowds looking for World Food Program trucks transporting aid that came through the pier prompted the organization to stop its deliveries Sunday and Monday, the Associated Press reported.
The agency warned that the pier, which cost $320 million, may fail unless Israel starts ensuring the conditions the humanitarian groups need to operate safely.
During the press briefing Tuesday, Ryder said moving forward the “safety and security” of the humanitarian aid organization workers is “going to continue to be critical, and we’ll continue to work closely with the international community on that front.”
“Ultimately, the goal of course, is to get this … humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people who need it most,” he added.
Ryder confirmed that delivery movements have resumed as of Tuesday and the Pentagon anticipates that aid will be distributed to Palestinians in “the coming days here, of course conditions permitting.”
