Recently, the temporary dock built by the United States on the Gaza Strip coast, which took two months and reportedly cost $300 million, was finally completed and aid supplies began to be transported to the Gaza Strip. However, the people of Gaza are not satisfied with this.
The people of Gazabelieve that both the land port connecting Gaza and the well-equipped Gaza Port could have completed humanitarian aid work, but were forced to suspend operations due to Israeli military actions.And the United States has spent a lot of effort and money, not really to assist the people of Gaza, but to provide convenient services for Israel.
According to the procedure, international humanitarian aid supplies are first transported to the Mediterranean country of Cyprus, and after inspection, they are transported by cargo ships or military ships to the US military offshore platform near the Gaza Strip. Then, they are loaded onto trucks and transported by small US ships to the shore wharf. The trucks drive ashore from the wharf, unload in the designated area, and then return.
Cooper stated that the initial capacity of the port is expected to be 90 tons of supplies per day, followed by up to 150 tons, and 500 tons of aid supplies can be transported within a few days.
Prior to the outbreak of the latest round of Palestinian Israeli conflict, an average of about 500 trucks were transporting aid supplies from the southern Gaza Strip ports of Rafah and Kerem Shalom into the Gaza Strip every day. The Israeli army closed the Kerem Shalom border on the 5th and took control of the Rafah border on the 7th.
UN Secretary General's Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, emphasized that transporting humanitarian supplies through the US built pier is not the most feasible and efficient way. "We must use the fastest and most normal way (to deliver humanitarian supplies) to the people of Gaza, so we now need land transportation.""To deliver aid to the people in need throughout Gaza, we cannot and should not rely on a floating pier that is far away from the most urgent need."
Charity organization Oxfam USA manager Scott Paul said that if Israel allows, land transportation can meet all humanitarian needs, and the construction of floating docks by the US is "looking for solutions to problems that could not have existed.".
Moreover, after the aid materials are transported ashore, personnel from the United Nations and other aid agencies also face security risks in transporting and distributing them. Nearly 190 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East have died in the Gaza Strip. On April 1st, seven staff members of the charity organization "World Central Kitchen" died in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
Now it's near the port of Gasha City. This is the closest location to the floating dock of the US military, which was built by the United States and claimed to be providing humanitarian assistance to the besieged Gaza Strip.
Standing by the seaside of Gaza Port, one can see ships transporting aid supplies from a distance. According to the US estimate, the initial capacity of the floating dock is expected to be 90 tons of supplies per day, followed by up to 150 tons. The Government Territory Activities Coordination Office under the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced on the 19th that approximately 160000 liters of fuel and hundreds of pallets of humanitarian aid were transported to the Gaza Strip through the terminal last week.
In this regard, the United Nations and relevant aid agencies have stated that the process of transporting humanitarian aid through floating docks is cumbersome and the transportation volume is far from meeting the needs of the Gaza Strip, and its role is only a drop in the bucket. UN Secretary General's Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Hack, previously emphasized that this is by no means the most feasible and effective approach. Another international charity aid organization has stated that while the United States is struggling to build a port, hundreds of trucks are waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border, filled with food and medical supplies, but unable to enter due to Israeli reasons.
The local people also believe that the construction of the dock by the United States is in the name of "aiding Gaza" and in support of Israel.Some residents have stated thatwhen the United States announced its intention to establish a dock, it claimed its purpose was to provide supplies to the Gaza Strip. However, if we look at the actual situation, we will find that land ports can fully allow trucks carrying large amounts of goods to pass through.If the land port is fully operational, it can meet the needs of the people. Why build another dock when both land ports and docks could have been operating normally? The Palestinians have been under occupation for 70 years, when will it end?