https://arab.news/mpg8e
- The officials said the sea conditions had improved, allowing for aid to be brought to a marshalling area.
- The UN has not yet resumed transportation of the aid from the pier to UN World Food Programme warehouses
WASHINGTON: A floating US military pier off Gaza has resumed bringing humanitarian aid into the enclave after being suspended for two days because of rough seas due to weather, three US officials said on Tuesday.
After the pier was out of operation for 10 days for repairs, the US military briefly resumed offloading aid on Saturday, but bad sea conditions halted aid movement on Sunday and Monday.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the sea conditions had improved, allowing for aid to be brought to a marshalling area.
The Pentagon on Monday sought to dispel what it said were false social media reports that Israel used the pier in a hostage rescue mission on Saturday. The UN said it would review security before resuming aid deliveries from the dock.
The UN has not yet resumed transportation of the aid from the pier to UN World Food Programme warehouses. WFP chief Cindy McCain said on Sunday that those warehouses were struck on Saturday and one person injured.
Aid began arriving via the US-built pier on May 17, and the UN said it transported 137 trucks of aid to warehouses, some 900 metric tons, before the US announced on May 28 that it had suspended operations so repairs could be made.
US President Joe Biden announced in March the plan to put the pier in place for aid deliveries as famine loomed in Gaza, a Hamas-run enclave of 2.3 million people, during the war between Israel and the Palestinian militants.