Desperate Crowds Halt UN Aid Deliveries in Gaza as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
Gaza's fragile lifeline, a U.S.-built floating pier, has been thrust into the spotlight as desperate crowds intercepted aid trucks, forcing the United Nations to suspend deliveries for a third consecutive day on Tuesday.
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) and Sailors attached to the MV Roy P. Benavidez assemble the Roll-On, Roll-Off Distribution Facility (RRDF), or floating pier, off the shore of Gaza in support of Operation Neptune Solace, April 26, 2024. The temporary pier will assist the United States Agency for International Development in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, which will increase the quantity and flow of humanitarian aid, including
The crisis underscores the dire humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave, where 2.3 million residents grapple with chronic shortages of food and medicine following last October's war between Israel and Hamas.
The pier, intended to ease the suffering, has become a symbol of both hope and frustration for the people of Gaza. Abu Nadi al-Haddad, a resident, questioned the pier's necessity, given the existence of several land crossings. "The pier should be there when the (Israeli) occupation completely ends. Then, it will be good for us," he remarked.
Meanwhile, Abu Nasser Abu Khousa, who lost his home in the war and has been displaced multiple times, waited near the pier with his four-year-old son and a donkey-drawn cart, hoping to receive aid. "We will come back tomorrow, God willing, in the hope that we will get some aid, that will help us survive," he said, his words echoing the desperation felt by many.
The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) is now planning new routes to distribute aid from the pier, according to Abeer Etefa, a WFP spokesperson in Cairo. The decision comes after only five out of 16 truckloads reached the WFP warehouse in Deir El Balah on Saturday, with the remaining 11 intercepted by crowds.
The situation has been exacerbated by Israel's closure of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on May 7, following increased military operations in and around the southern city of Rafah. This has led to a sharp decline in international aid deliveries, further compounding the humanitarian crisis.
The $320 million pier operation, involving 1,000 U.S. service personnel, sees aid shipped from Cyprus to Gaza after being inspected by Israel. U.S. Central Command reported that more than 569 metric tonnes of relief from the U.S., Britain, the United Arab Emirates, and the European Union have been delivered to the pier so far. However, the amount of aid waiting at the pier since Saturday's distribution suspension remains unclear.
As the U.N. works to establish new routes and coordinate deliveries to prevent further interceptions, the people of Gaza continue to wait, their hopes for survival hanging in the balance.