'Israel' used aid trucks to retrieve captives, now NGOs fear working
5 Min Read
The Israeli occupation used an aid truck to get to the captives it retrieved in early June, and now aid is piling up on Gaza's beaches as aid staffers fear being targeted.
-
US Army soldiers stand next to trucks arriving loaded with humanitarian aid at the US-built floating pier Trident before reaching the beach on the coast of the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestine, June 25, 2024 (AP)
Humanitarian organizations are facing severe challenges in delivering aid to Gaza as security concerns mount after the Israeli occupation forces used aid trucks for military operations, namely the retrieval of captives in the war-torn Strip. This issue is exacerbated by the United States military-built pier in Gaza, which has struggled to effectively serve the desperate population and has instead supported the Israeli occupation's military activities.
Weeks after it was installed, deconstructed, fixed, and everything in between, the pier is finally working, and aid is making it onto the beaches in Gaza; but only onto the beaches, as it is not reaching the famished population due to aid workers fearing being attacked by the Israeli occupation, which would not set a precedent.
Read next: 'Israel' claims WCK workers killed in error after bombing them 3 times
Tons of food and medical supplies are piling up on the beach, awaiting distribution as US officials and aid group representatives report increasing alarm about food spoiling as it sits exposed, Politico reported.
Many aid groups have halted their operations out of fear of being targeted by Israeli airstrikes. The United Nations has threatened to suspend all its aid efforts across the war-torn and hunger-stricken strip unless the Israeli occupation takes urgent steps to ensure the safety of aid workers, according to an AP report.
"The hostile operating environment makes it nearly impossible for humanitarian operations to deliver food aid," said Steve Taravella, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP). "Restoring order is crucial for an effective humanitarian response to meet soaring needs. UN agencies and others need a safe environment to be able to access people and scale up."
The failed pier
Initially set up by US military personnel on May 17, the pier was expected to significantly ease the delivery of aid to Gaza's starving population. However, high waves dislodged the pier just over a week after its deployment, halting aid deliveries.
It took another week to secure the pier back in place, but it was dismantled again due to forecasts of bad weather, which is unfortunate in a sense due to the fact that even the world's strongest navy couldn't stomach a few waves and some bad weather.
Despite efforts to re-anchor and resume operations on Thursday, the pier has been described as largely ineffective. Georgios Petropoulos, head of the UN humanitarian coordination office in Gaza, labeled the operation "a failure."
The pier resumed normal operations on Tuesday after one of many maintenance pauses. Despite moving 720 metric tons of aid on Sunday, the most delivered in a single day, the aid remains undelivered to the Gazans who need it.
Compounding the issue, aid groups such as WFP have ceased operations in part due to the aftermath of a deadly Israeli captive retrieval operation on June 8. During the raid, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) used a truck disguised as an aid vehicle and landed a helicopter near the pier.
Risk to aid workers
In the aftermath, the IOF launched numerous airstrikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, which led to the death of at least 210 Palestinians and the injury of 400. This massacre, which follows on the heels of many like it, has heightened fears among aid workers that they could be targeted.
"The potential risk to aid workers was something WFP and the UN pushed back on from the beginning," said a senior aid representative. "They knew the concerns and expressed those concerns upfront. What the IDF did made everything more difficult."
Despite denial from the Pentagon, Israeli and US sources have told The New York Times that the US provided intelligence on the Israeli captives retrieved from Gaza.
Since its plan was revealed, the real purpose of the pier has been widely speculated, as it can represent the basis for a future permanent US military base on the shores of Palestine under the pretext of delivering aid.
The pier could also serve as a choke point for aid in the post-war situation, as such deliveries could be linked to political pressure on the people of Gaza and the Resistance to submit to future US diktats.
A team of American experts stationed in Israeli-occupied lands supported the Israeli military in retrieving the four captives by giving information and other logistical support, according to one American official, who spoke anonymously to discuss the delicate operation.
A senior Israeli official told the NYT that the US and UK have been in "Israel" throughout the war on Gaza, assisting Israeli intelligence in gathering and analyzing information about the captives, some of whom are citizens of both countries.
The Pentagon and the CIA have been sharing intelligence from drone flights over Gaza, communications intercepts, and other sources regarding the possible whereabouts of captives. The US and UK have been able to give intelligence from the air and cyberspace that Israel is unable to acquire on its own, according to an Israeli official.
