WASHINGTON – Urgently needed aid was delivered to Gaza from a recently repaired American-built pier, a U.S. official said Saturday after Problems that had hampered the efforts to deliver supplies to the Palestinians by sea.
The pier, built by the American military, was only in use for about every week before it torn apart by strong winds and heavy seas on May 25. The damaged section was reconnected to the beach in Gaza on Friday after carrying out repairs at an Israeli port.
Crews delivered about 1.1 million kilos (492 tons) of humanitarian aid across the pier to Gaza on Saturday, the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement of the delivery.
On the identical day, Israel launched a heavy air and ground offensive. Attack through which 4 hostages were rescuedcaptured by Hamas through the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza. At least 210 Palestinians, including children, were killed, a Gaza health official said.
This will bring back online a solution to deliver urgently needed food and other emergency supplies to Palestinians who’ve been displaced by the eight-month-old War between Israel and HamasDue to Israeli restrictions on land crossings and fighting, the world's supply of food and other essential goods is severely limited.
The damage to the pier was the last stumbling block for the project and the continuing struggle to provide the ravenous PalestiniansThree US soldiers were injured, one seriously, and 4 ships were stranded as a consequence of heavy seas.
Initial attempts to bring relief supplies from the pier into the Gaza Strip were interrupted by crowds. overran a truck convoy that aid agencies used to move the food, and plenty of of those ships were unloaded before they may reach a UN warehouse. Authorities responded by changing the travel routes, and aid got to those in need.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command, told reporters on Friday that the teachings learned from the primary week of operations had given him confidence that larger amounts of aid could now be delivered.
He said the goal was to stand up to 1 million kilos (500 tons, or 450 metric tons) of food and other supplies through the pier to Gaza every two days. Before the dam broke apart within the storm, greater than 1,100 tons (1,000 metric tons) of supplies were delivered, Pentagon officials said.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is working with the United Nations World Food Programme and its humanitarian partners within the Gaza Strip to distribute food, emergency dietary treatment for ravenous children and other relief supplies by sea.
Aid groups have been urging Israel to reopen land routes that might bring all of the aid it needs into the country. Israel says it has allowed tons of of trucks to go through a southern checkpoint and points the finger on the UN for failing to distribute aid. The UN says it is commonly unable to gather aid due to the security situation.
UN agencies warn that greater than 1,000,000 Palestinians within the Gaza Strip extreme hunger until the center of next month if hostilities proceed.
President Joe Biden's administration has said from the start that the pier just isn’t intended to be a one-size-fits-all solution and that any help can be helpful.
The original cost was estimated at $320 million, however the Pentagon said last week that the value had been reduced to $230 million due to donations from Britain and since the fee of buying trucks and other equipment was lower than expected.
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