It’s funny how the Biden administration thinks a terrorist organization that kills, rapes and mutilates people will suddenly become a good steward when entrusted with millions of dollars in aid.
The temporary pier constructed by U.S. Army engineers off the coast of Gaza became operational on May 16.
The pier — called Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore — is essentially a massive floating dock set up to provide food and other aid to Palestinians in the territory. The Israeli military has waged war on Hamas militants in Gaza following their Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
U.S. troops built a large discharge platform where cargo ships could offload supplies connected to a trident-shaped pier or causeway leading to the shore. The system is meant to provide a way to bring in humanitarian relief when no conventional port is available, according to the Navy Times.
Trucks began offloading pallets of food aid on May 17.
However, the Pentagon said Tuesday that it didn’t think any of the hundreds of tons of aid had reached the people it was intended for, according to Military.com.
The United Nations reported severe difficulties in distributing the aid once it reached Gaza’s shores.
The U.N. World Food Program said none of the 11 trucks dispatched from the beach supply area on Saturday had reached its intended warehouse destination, The Associated Press reported.
The initial days of aid delivery from the U.S. pier have been marred by serious security issues and incidents once the supplies leave the immediate area.
Should the Gaza “aid” pier be closed?
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Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said some of the first aid shipments were “intercepted” by groups before relief organizations could distribute them formally.
“As [the aid] was being taken along the transportation route, it was intercepted by some people who took that aid off those vehicles,” Ryder said.
The U.N. World Food Program said a crowd had gathered and commandeered the aid in a scene that left one Palestinian dead from gunfire.
When asked if any aid had reached the Gazans, Ryder said, “As of today, I do not believe so.”
To date, over 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance has been delivered across the temporary pier in Gaza, says @PentagonPresSec
— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) May 21, 2024
The U.S. is working with Israel and the U.N. to establish “alternative routes” to transport the stockpiled aid from the staging area near the pier to warehouses throughout Gaza for broader distribution, CNN reported.
The challenges also extended to the initial delivery phase. Only 569 tons of aid were brought ashore in the days after the pier became operational — well short of the Pentagon’s goal of transporting 500 tons per day and ramping up to 150 truckloads daily.
On the bright side, the AP reported that some aid did finally get to the Gazans on Wednesday — biscuits.
The U.N. World Food Program said it gave out a “limited number” of high-energy biscuits to Palestinians in need.
“Aid is flowing from the pier,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday. However, he admitted, “It is not flowing at a rate that any of us are happy with.”
After spending $320 million to build the pier and many millions more for humanitarian aid, all that the Palestinians received were a “limited number” of biscuits.
@laraseligman Here is part of the Pentagon press briefing Aid GAZA May 21 – prefaced by 2 short clips Biden and Manchin.
It appears HAMAS is still stopping trucks from moving and keeping our aid. No solution to stop it.https://t.co/oJFbRKD6iI
Full link ⬆️ pic.twitter.com/I7usLNJfZF— Joni Job (@jj_talking) May 21, 2024
What it looks like from the outside is that millions of taxpayer dollars are going to the very Hamas terrorists who orchestrated the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The Biden administration is funding the war on both sides, and the American people are footing the bill.
