US announces end of Gaza pier mission as famine deepens, raising controversy

By Husnu Nedim

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A recent announcement by the US that a floating pier established for delivering humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip has completed its mission has raised controversy as a famine continues to deepen in the blockaded enclave, which has been under an Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7 last year.

The US announced on July 17 that it had decided to permanently dismantle the pier after it was plagued by bad weather and mechanical malfunctions and due to Israel not allowing humanitarian aid to pass into Gaza by land.

Vice Admiral Brad Cooper claimed the floating dock had achieved its goal of delivering aid to Gaza quickly, saying "the mission is complete."

Cooper said humanitarian aid would continue to be delivered to Gaza via Israel's Ashdod Port and that the dock would be returned to the US.

He noted that the floating pier, which was first installed on May 17 and used for 20 days, delivered around 8,000 tons of aid to Gaza.

The announcement that the mission has been completed has come under criticism.

- Number of aid trucks very low

"The number of aid trucks coming through the Kerem Abu Salim (Shalom) crossing from Israel to Gaza is very low," Inas Hamdan, the acting director of the Information Office at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, told Anadolu.

Hamdan said UNRWA needs 500-600 trucks of aid daily to operate in Gaza.

"The insufficient number of aid trucks is hindering the delivery of humanitarian services, including health and environmental support," he added.

Hamdan emphasized that UNRWA health centers in Gaza need medical supplies and fuel, which is essential for their operations.

According to UNRWA, since May 7, 2,435 aid trucks have entered Gaza, with 954 going to the central and northern areas and 1,481 to the south.

- 'Floating dock is a US deception'

Ismail al-Sawabitah, director general of the Gaza Government Media Office, said "the aid in the trucks coming to Gaza is limited and does not meet the citizens' needs.”

Al-Sawabitah said Gazans have no purchasing power and Israeli attacks worsen the region's economy.

He called the US claim of delivering thousands of tons of aid to central and northern Gaza via the floating dock "a lie, a US deception, and a revealing conspiracy."

He argued that the US decision to dismantle the floating dock was not due to it "completing its mission” noting that "the US claims of helping Palestinians and ending the famine in Gaza have resulted in failure."

International organizations and Palestinian officials have said the floating dock addressed only a small portion of Gaza's nine-month humanitarian aid needs under the Israeli blockade.

Since Oct. 7 last year, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 39,006 Palestinians, including 16,172 children and 10,798 women, and injured 89,818.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in early October.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 89,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Thousands are still reported dead under the rubble, and civilian infrastructure is being destroyed as hospitals and educational institutions are targeted.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.