Humanitarian aid is transported along the U.S.-built temporary pier before entering the beach in Gaza on May 18, 2024. (Riley Anfinson/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — Three U.S. service members suffered minor injuries helping deliver more than 500 metric tons of humanitarian aid distributed to Palestinians in Gaza using a temporary floating pier, a defense official said Thursday.
“Since commencement of operations, 820 metric tons of aid have been delivered by [U.S. Central Command] forces. In terms of distribution, 506 metric tons of aid have been distributed … to the people of Gaza by the United Nations as of last night,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of CENTCOM, which overseas U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
He also said three U.S. service members suffered minor, noncombat-related injuries during the operation while at sea. One sprained an ankle and another suffered a back injury. The third service member is undergoing care at an Israeli hospital for an undisclosed issue.
The pier, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, is meant to provide another way to deliver needed aid into Gaza. The World Health Organization has warned some 2.3 million Gaza inhabitants face extreme hunger that could become a full-blown famine by next month as Israel continues its war against Hamas militants who launched a surprise assault in October from the enclave.
Overhead imagery shows the U.S.-built temporary pier off the coast of Gaza being used to deliver humanitarian aid. (U.S. Central Command)
President Joe Biden first announced the JLOTS operation on March 7. One day later, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman, said the temporary pier would be operational within about 60 days.
The temporary pier was installed last week and the delivery of aid began Friday.
The flow of aid starts in Cyprus, where it is inspected and loaded onto ships to travel about 200 miles to the floating pier in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Once it arrives, the aid is transferred by U.S. military vessels to the causeway attached to the coast of Gaza. From there, trucks driven by a third party take the aid into Gaza, not the U.S. military.
Ryder told reporters Tuesday that more than 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance had been delivered through the temporary pier to the shore of Gaza to be distributed to humanitarian partners. However, he said he did not believe any of the aid had made it into the hands of Palestinians.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday said some aid had been delivered to “Palestinians that specifically need it.”
Humanitarian aid is transported along the U.S.-built temporary pier before entering the beach in Gaza on May 18, 2024. (Jordan KirkJohnson/U.S. Navy)
There have been some issues with deliveries from the pier. Groups of people overran a convoy Saturday and took most of the supplies and a man in the crowd was shot dead in unexplained circumstances, the Associated Press reported.
Ryder said the U.S. is working with Israel and the United Nations to establish alternative routes for safe delivery of aid transported to Gaza.
“These are critical concerns of ours and we and humanitarian organizations continue to work with all stakeholders to mitigate the risks,” said Daniel Dieckhaus, director of the U.S. Agency for International Development Response. “There’s a variety of mitigation measures, but none of that is going to remove the risks.”
The pier is expected to deliver about 90 trucks worth of aid a day and ramp up to 150 per day once it reaches full capacity, defense officials have said. The U.N. has said to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza about 500 trucks worth of aid per day must enter the territory. Dieckhaus said about 71 truckloads of aid has gotten in to the enclave.
Cooper said 1,000 American troops and 16 ships have been involved in the operation of the pier, which costs about $320 million.
