WASHINGTON: The UN World Food Program on Tuesday warned that the new US $320 million pier project for delivering aid to war-hit Gaza may fail unless Israel starts improving the conditions.
The operation was stopped for at least two days after crowds looted humanitarian aid trucks coming from the port and one Palestinian man was killed.
Deliveries were halted on Sunday and Monday after the majority of the trucks in an aid convoy were stripped of all their items on the way to a warehouse in the central part of Gaza, the WFP said. The first assistance transported by sea had reached the besieged Palestinian enclave on Friday.
The Pentagon said movement of aid from the port resumed Tuesday, but the UN said it was not aware of any such deliveries on Tuesday.
The UN food agency is now analyzing logistics and security measures and looking for alternate routes in Gaza, said spokesperson Abeer Etefa. The WFP is working closely with the US Agency for International Development to coordinate aid deliveries.
Another WFP spokesperson, Steve Taravela, told Western media that only five of the 16 aid trucks that left the secured area on Saturday reached the warehouse.
“Without sufficient supplies entering Gaza, these issues will continue to surface. Community acceptance and trust that this is not a one-off event are essential for this operation’s success,” Taravela said in an email.
The WFP also on Tuesday said it has paused food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah because of lack of supplies and insecurity.
President Joe Biden ordered the US military’s construction of the floating pier for deliveries of food and other supplies.
Israeli restrictions on shipments through land borders and overall war have put all 2.3 million residents of Gaza in a severe food crisis since the Israel-Hamas war started in October, and US and UN officials.
The Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that 569 metric tons of aid had been delivered to the secured area at the Gaza port by Tuesday.
Gaza health officials say fighting in the Palestinian enclave has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians including women and children.
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