First Gaza Aid Delivery Across Floating Pier

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip drove ashore across the newly-built US pier for the first time on Friday. US spokesman John Kirby said “more than 300 pallets” of aid were in that delivery and transferred to UN staff who prepared to distribute it.

It represents the start of an effort that could increase to 150 truckloads a day. But US and UN officials, along with aid groups, say that this project is not a replacement for land deliveries that could bring in all the food, water and fuel needed.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said 8,400 plastic shelters were part of that first shipment and that about 500 tonnes of British aid is expected to reach the Gaza Strip aross the pier in the coming weeks.

In the context of the total need, both Rishi Sunak and David Cameron repeated their calls for the Israelis to meet a commitment to allow at least 500 aid trucks a day into Gaza.

But a major problem with that has been Hamas firing rockets and mortars at the Kerem Shalom Crossing – one of the main aid routes into the Gaza Strip. Hamas killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded others on Sunday 5th May and have fired at the crossing again in the days since then, demonstrating clearly that they are not interested in the welfare of Gazan civilians.

Another major problem is getting the aid safely to the people who need it. A second video of the first pier shipment being delivered shows what appear to be armed men riding on top of the aid lorries and firing at one point, to ward off people attempting to loot the aid.