Gaza aid-pier operations suspended – UN

The floating dock built amid the global body’s warnings of a “full-blown famine” in the enclave was working for only one day

The United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) has suspended food distribution from a US-built pier in central Gaza due to concerns for the safety of its staff, the WFP branch in the region said on social media on Monday. The announcement comes after the aid group’s warehouse complex in the enclave was reportedly hit by rockets.

The temporary pier was built by the US military to bring more aid into Gaza. WFP said last month that the northern part of the besieged enclave had entered a “full-blown famine” which was now moving southwards. The UN accused Israel of restricting humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, which West Jerusalem has denied.

The group is “temporarily pausing operations at floating dock for a UN security assessment to ensure staff & partners’ safety,” WFP in the Middle East and North Africa said in the statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. 

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The program’s director Cindy McCain told CBS news on Sunday that two of the agency’s warehouses in the enclave had been “rocketed” the day before, leaving one staff member injured. The group was forced to “step back” to make sure it is “on safe ground,” McCain added. 

On Saturday, the Israeli military carried out an assault on a refugee camp in central Gaza to retrieve hostages held by Hamas. Four Israeli captives were freed in the operation, with more than 270 people were reportedly also killed. 

Israel’s key ally, the US, admitted that the military action had taken place “near” the floating dock but described any possible damage as “incidental.” The pier “had nothing to do with the [Israeli military] rescue operation,” Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder told reporters on Monday. 

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Completed in mid-May, the US-built pier was operational for about a week before work was halted due to storm damage. Repairs were completed last Friday and, on Saturday, nearly 500 metric tons of food were unloaded from US vessels. However, distribution has now been suspended due to fighting, meaning more food interruptions for famine-stricken Gazans.

The conflict between Hamas and Israel flared in October after the Palestinian militant group launched a rocket attack on the Jewish State killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. The death toll from Israeli retaliation in Gaza has passed 37,000, according to the enclave’s authorities.