WASHINGTON (AP) — The pier built by the U.S. military to bring aid to Gaza is being removed due to weather to protect it, and the U.S. is considering not re-installing it unless aid begins flowing out into the population again, several U.S. officials said Friday.

While the military has helped deliver desperately needed food through the pier, the vast majority of it is still sitting in the adjacent storage yard because of the difficulty that agencies have had moving it to areas in Gaza where it is most needed, and that storage area is almost full.

  • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    They have plenty of aid on land. The obstacle is land delivery to Gaza due to Israeli attacks, not weather damage to the pier.

    The pier has been used to get more than 19.4 million pounds, or 8.6 million kilograms, of food into Gaza but has faced multiple setbacks.

    She noted that the secure area onshore is “pretty close to full,” but that the intention is still to get aid into Gaza by all means necessary. She said the U.S. is having discussions with the aid agencies about the distribution of the food.

    The big challenge has been that humanitarian convoys have stopped carrying the aid from the pier’s storage area further into Gaza, to get it into civilian hands, because they have come under attack.

    • Wrench@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      This is the key problem that seems to be getting buried everywhere

      The big challenge has been that humanitarian convoys have stopped carrying the aid from the pier’s storage area further into Gaza, to get it into civilian hands, because they have come under attack.

      If we’re not worrying about the cost of the pier, which I don’t think the Left is at all, then it’s really not about the storms and the maintenance that’s needed to keep it operational.

      The problem is Isreal is still functionally blocking the aid from reaching the people.

      So why spend so many resources on this pier and put your people at risk, when distribution of the delivered aid is blockaded the same as the land aid.