Washington (AFP) – The Pentagon announced this on Thursday Humanitarian aid will begin flowing soon To Gaza Beach via the new pier that was installed on the beach and will begin reaching those in need almost immediately.
Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters that the United States believes there will not be any reserve support in Afghanistan. Aid distributionWhich is coordinated by the United Nations.
However, the UN said fuel imports have almost stopped, and this will make it extremely difficult to get aid to Gaza’s population, whose 2.3 million people are in desperate need of food and other supplies after seven months of blockade. Violent fighting between Israel and Hamas.
“We urgently need fuel,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the United Nations. “It does not matter how aid comes, whether by sea or by land, without fuel, aid will not reach the people.”
Singh said that the issue of fuel delivery comes up in all talks with the Israelis.
The US military finished installing a floating dock off the Gaza Strip early Thursday, and officials are making final checks before trucks begin heading to shore to deliver aid pallets.
The sidewalk project is expected to cost $320 millionHe was I ordered over two months ago US President Joe Biden announced help for Palestinians suffering from hunger, as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and intense fighting prevent food and other supplies from entering Gaza.
fraught Logistical, weather and security challengesHowever, the dock project is not an alternative to the cheap land deliveries that aid agencies say are more sustainable.
Boat loads of aid will be deposited at a port built by the Israelis just southwest of Gaza City It is distributed by relief groups.
US officials said on Thursday that up to 500 tons of food would begin arriving on the Gaza shore within days, and that the United States had closely coordinated with Israel on how to protect ships and personnel working on shore.
But questions remain about how aid organizations can safely work in Gaza to distribute food to those who need it most, said Sonali Korde, assistant administrator for USAID’s Office of Humanitarian Assistance, which helps with logistics.
“There is a very unsafe working environment,” Kordi said, and aid groups are still struggling to obtain permission for their planned movements in Gaza. Those talks with the Israeli military “need to get to a place where humanitarian aid workers feel safe, secure and able to work safely.” “I don’t think we’re there yet.”
Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian activists on the outskirts of the southern city of Jerusalem Rafah United Nations officials say that Israel’s resumption of combat operations in parts of northern Gaza has led to the displacement of about 700,000 people. Israel recently seized the main Rafah border crossing in its campaign against Hamas.
Pentagon officials say the fighting does not threaten the new coastal aid distribution area, but made clear that security conditions will be closely monitored and could lead to the sea route being closed, even temporarily.
In a conference call, Sonali Korde, of the US Agency for International Development, said more work must be done with the Israeli military to keep humanitarian aid workers in Gaza safe.
Indeed, the site was targeted by mortar shells during its construction, and Hamas threatened to target any foreign forces that “occupy” the Gaza Strip.
“Protecting participating U.S. forces is a top priority. As such, in the past few weeks, the United States and Israel have developed an integrated security plan to protect all personnel,” said Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command. “We We are confident in the ability of this security arrangement to protect those involved.”
The Central Command confirmed that none of its forces entered the Gaza Strip to secure the pier and would not do so during its operations. She added that trucks loaded with aid will move to the beach in the coming days and that “the United Nations will receive the aid and coordinate its distribution in Gaza.”
Officials said the World Food Program would be the UN agency handling the aid.
Israeli forces will be responsible for security on the beach, but there are also two US Navy warships nearby, the USS Arleigh Burke and USS Paul Ignatius. Both are destroyers equipped with a wide range of weapons and capabilities to protect American forces abroad and allies ashore.
Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani confirmed that the pier had been connected and that Israeli engineering units had leveled the land around the area and paved roads for trucks.
Shoshani said: “We have been working for months to fully cooperate with (the US Army) on this project and to facilitate and support it in any way possible.” “It is a top priority in our operation.”
The United Nations, the United States and international relief organizations say Israel has allowed only a fraction of the pre-war food and other supplies to reach Gaza since Hamas attacks on Israel launched the war in October. Aid agencies say food is running out in southern Gaza and fuel is running low, while the US Agency for International Development and the World Food Program say Famine took hold In northern Gaza.
Israel says it places no restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and blames the United Nations for delays in distributing goods entering Gaza. The United Nations says fighting, Israeli fire and chaotic security conditions have hampered aid deliveries. Under pressure from the United States, Israel in recent weeks opened two crossings to deliver aid to hard-hit northern Gaza, and said that a series of Hamas attacks on the main crossing, Kerem Shalom, had disrupted the flow of goods.
The first cargo ship carrying food left Cyprus last week and the shipment was transferred to the US military ship Roy B. Benavidez off the coast of Gaza.
Military commanders said aid delivery would start slowly to ensure the system works. They will start with about 90 truckloads of aid per day via the sea route, and this number will quickly rise to about 150 per day. Aid agencies say this is not enough and should be just one part of a broader Israeli effort to open land corridors.
Scott Ball, associate director of Oxfam, said that because land crossings could bring in all the aid needed if Israeli officials allowed them, the US-built dock and sea route “is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.” Humanitarian organization.
Under the new sea route, humanitarian aid will be disembarked in Cyprus where it will undergo inspection and security screening at the port of Larnaca. They are then loaded onto ships and transported 200 miles (320 kilometers) to a large floating dock built by the US military off the coast of Gaza.
There, the pallets are transferred to trucks, transferred to smaller military boats and then transported several miles (kilometres) to the bridge leading to the beach. Trucks being made Led by employees from another countryThey will descend the bridge to a safe area on land where aid will be delivered and then immediately turn around and return to the boats.
Relief groups will collect supplies for distribution.
___
Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Julia Frankel in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
