In a stunning display of brazen lawlessness, close to three-fourths of the humanitarian aid transported to Gaza from a newly-constructed U.S. military pier was looted on Saturday before ever reaching its intended recipients. The mass theft has sparked outrage and raised fresh concerns over the ability to effectively deliver relief supplies to the besieged coastal territory.
According to reports, a convoy of 16 trucks loaded with food parcels departed the $320 million floating pier on Saturday bound for a UN World Food Programme warehouse in central Gaza. However, only 5 of those trucks made it to their destination – the other 11 were “cleaned out” by Palestinians lining the routes.
“They just basically mounted on the trucks and helped themselves to some of the food parcels,” a UN official told Reuters, attempting to downplay the staggering 69% pilfering rate as simply Gazans hungry to see aid convoys again after years of conflict.
But Israeli authorities condemned the blatant looting, saying it underscores the systematic obstacles to providing humanitarian assistance amid the fractured security situation. For months, other border crossings into Gaza have been closed off due to incessant militant rocket attacks.
“This pier was supposed to be a reliable lifeline to get aid directly to those in desperate need,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz. “But we’re already seeing Hamas and its allies taking advantage of the chaos to enrich their own coffers at the expense of their own people.”
Indeed, Israeli intelligence estimates that the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas has been skimming up to 60% of all aid entering Gaza throughout the 8-month military conflict. Last week, a TV investigation revealed Hamas has profited over $500 million by systematically diverting and re-selling relief supplies on the black market.
The floating pier, jointly funded by the U.S. and Gulf allies, was designed as a workaround to mitigate those aid diversions and bring humanitarian goods directly to Gaza’s shores. Some 1,000 American sailors and engineers pre-assembled the pier in an Israeli port before anchoring it off a Gaza beach last week in a high-profile military operation.
“We can deliver up to 500 tons of relief supplies per day through this pier,” boasted Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, “eventually ramping up to 150 truckloads daily if needed to meet demand.”
But those ambitions were brought crashing back to reality on day one. Rather than the hoped-for massive influx of food, medicine and other essentials, less than a third of the initial 16 truckloads arrived safely atUN warehouses over the weekend. In fact, no aid was delivered on Sunday or Monday as officials scrambled to reinforce security protocols.
“We need to make sure that the necessary security and logistical arrangements are in place before we proceed,” a UN spokesperson said, acknowledging the brazen daylight heists represented an “inauspicious” start to pier operations.
With the embattled territory’s other borders still largely sealed off, the floating pier is seen as a crucial conduit to averting a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Months of urban warfare have devastated infrastructure and caused widespread shortages of food, water and electricity for the strip’s 2 million residents.
But Israel and its allies are once again appealing to Egypt, which controls the Rafah border crossing, to reopen that crossing to supplement aid flows. According to reports, stockpiles of relief supplies are piling up on the Egyptian side of Rafah as Cairo has so far refused to coordinate with Israeli authorities on admitting convoys.
“The key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends,” Katz stated bluntly.
With the UN now scrambling to tighten security protocol around the newly operational U.S. pier, the stolen aid caper has served as an ignoble debut to the multi-million dollar project. It’s also a stark reminder that even if the physical pipelines for aid exist, the persistent specter of violence, militancy and desperation could ultimately render any humanitarian measures futile.