The Palestinian people themselves are interfering in the delivery of aid within Gaza. I am sure the aid is being met by people in need of supplies, but, the idea that all will go smoothly and to the people in most need does not carry guarantees.
By Michelle Nichols and Idrees Ali
A DoD-contracted driver transports humanitarian aid across the Trident Pier before entering the beach in Gaza May 19, 2024. U.S. Army Photo
The United Nations (click here) has planned new routes within the Gaza Strip to transport aid from a U.S.-built floating pier after crowds of desperate Palstinians intercepted 11 trucks, causing a halt to deliveries that continued for a third day on Tuesday.
The temporary pier was anchored to a Gaza beach last Thursday as Israel comes under growing global pressure to allow more supplies into the besieged coastal enclave, where it is at war with Palestinian militants Hamas and a famine looms.
Operations began on Friday and 10 aid trucks were driven by U.N. contractors to a World Food Programme warehouse in Deir El Balah in Gaza. But on Saturday, only five trucks made it to the warehouse after 11 others were intercepted.
“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. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Tuesday.
“These trucks were traveling through areas where there’d been no aid. I think people feared that they would never see aid. They grabbed what they could,” he said.
Distribution was paused as the U.N. planned new routes and coordination of deliveries in a bid to prevent more aid being intercepted, said Abeer Etefa, a WFP spokesperson in Cairo.
“The missions were planned for today using the new routes to avoid the crowds,” she said. Dujarric later said there had been no transportation of aid from the pier since Saturday.
‘WAITING FOR AMERICAN AID’
The pier has been met with hope and skepticism by residents in Gaza. The pier operation – announced by U.S. President Joe Biden in March – is estimated to cost $320 million and involve 1,000 U.S. service members....
The United Nations (click here) has planned new routes within the Gaza Strip to transport aid from a U.S.-built floating pier after crowds of desperate Palstinians intercepted 11 trucks, causing a halt to deliveries that continued for a third day on Tuesday.
The temporary pier was anchored to a Gaza beach last Thursday as Israel comes under growing global pressure to allow more supplies into the besieged coastal enclave, where it is at war with Palestinian militants Hamas and a famine looms.
Operations began on Friday and 10 aid trucks were driven by U.N. contractors to a World Food Programme warehouse in Deir El Balah in Gaza. But on Saturday, only five trucks made it to the warehouse after 11 others were intercepted.
“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. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Tuesday.
“These trucks were traveling through areas where there’d been no aid. I think people feared that they would never see aid. They grabbed what they could,” he said.
Distribution was paused as the U.N. planned new routes and coordination of deliveries in a bid to prevent more aid being intercepted, said Abeer Etefa, a WFP spokesperson in Cairo.
“The missions were planned for today using the new routes to avoid the crowds,” she said. Dujarric later said there had been no transportation of aid from the pier since Saturday.
‘WAITING FOR AMERICAN AID’
The pier has been met with hope and skepticism by residents in Gaza. The pier operation – announced by U.S. President Joe Biden in March – is estimated to cost $320 million and involve 1,000 U.S. service members....
