This image provided by the U.S. Army shows trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from the United Arab Emirates and the United States Agency for International Development cross the Trident Pier before arriving on the beach on the Gaza Strip Friday, May 17, 2024. Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built U.S. pier and into the besieged enclave for the first time Friday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hindered the delivery of food and other supplies.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kelby Sanders)
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.N. World Food Program said Tuesday that the new U.S. $320 million pier project for delivering aid to Gaza may fail unless Israel starts providing the conditions the humanitarian groups need to operate safely, after a chaotic launch ended with much of the aid looted and one Palestinian man dead.
Deliveries from the pier were stopped Sunday after Saturday’s aid convoy was unable to reach warehouses within Gaza as intended, the WFP said. The first 10 trucks had entered through the pier on Friday.
The U.N. agency is now reevaluating logistics and security measures and looking for alternate routes within Gaza, said spokesperson Abeer Etefa. The WFP is working with the U.S. Agency for International Development to coordinate delivery of food from the new U.S. route.
