UN plans new routes for halted Gaza aid deliveries from US-built pier

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: msn/Reuters

2h


(Reuters) - The United Nations is planning new routes to distribute aid from a U.S.-built pier in Gaza, a spokesperson said, after crowds of needy residents intercepted trucks, causing a halt to deliveries that continued for a third day on Tuesday.

The temporary, floating pier is meant to help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, though aid workers say that only deliveries through land borders can ensure relief on the scale that is needed.

Operations at the pier began on Friday and the U.N. said 10 truckloads of food aid - transported from the pier by U.N. contractors - were received at a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Deir El Balah in Gaza. But on Saturday, only five truckloads made it to the warehouse after 11 others were intercepted.

Distribution was then paused as logistics teams planned new routes and coordination of deliveries in an effort to prevent more aid being intercepted, said Abeer Etefa, a WFP spokesperson in Cairo. "The missions were planned for today using the new routes to avoid the crowds," she said. "Up until now we haven't heard that they moved."

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/un-plans-new-routes-for-halted-gaza-aid-deliveries-from-us-built-pier/ar-BB1mNhRE

[AloeVera]

1. Don't starve people for months

And then expect orderly delivery.

Let aid flow through unimpeded, in quantity, through the crossings and then through a humanitarian corridor guaranteed by the IDF. This is what would be done by any occupying power in compliance with international law. Why is Israel allowed to violate those laws for 7 months?? Enough!!

[Goddessartist]

2. I know. It's ridiculous.

They are truly genocidal maniacs.

[AloeVera]

11. And the ICC agrees with us!

That is something, truly.

(Mea culpa. It's been weighing on my mind. I will get to it, shortly).

[Goddessartist]

12. Yes, they do!

Hugs

[LauraInLA]

3. I keep thinking about how the U.N. will prevent Hamas from stealing the aid that does arrive,

which they have been doing regularly. It seems insoluble .

[AloeVera]

4. Please.

Even the U.S. said those claims of stealing aid are not backed by any proof.

But for Israel, it is a handy-dandy excuse for taking responsibility for the crisis off where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of Israel. It's actually way worse than that because repeating that unfounded and nonsensical claim provides the pretext for Israel to continue the starvation. I can't think of much worse than enabling or shrugging off as "insoluble" the starvation of even children.

[LauraInLA]

5. There is more than one video of people stealing aid from the trucks, and it's well known

that Hamas appropriates resources and sells them, etc. it’s one reason there are Gazans who are so desperate they’re speaking out about it.

This is completely separate from the complete neglect and disregard the Israeli government has shown in permitting aid to enter.

I would argue it’s another crime in this war. And I don’t know who/how it can be stopped. We need an independent authority with power in Gaza to administer and rebuild.

[AloeVera]

7. The root cause of the starvation is not Hamas stealing aid.

That's like blaming the recent musquito bite instead of the liver failure from long-term alcohol abuse.

The starvation was caused by the planned and systematically carried out impediments/blocks/delays/restrictions to aid flowing in, cutting it to a trickle of pre-war levels. No doubt enabled and compounded by the dishonest kneei-capping of UNRWA and its aid delivery capability and infrastructure.

I would not call it neglect or disregard. It's not lack of care, it's a strategy.

This is why it's a man-made famine. Hamas stealing or not stealing is just a distraction. It's irrelevant, even if it occurs, because the famine was already created and the need is orders of magnitude beyond what Hamas could possibly steal.

How to stop it? Let aid in freely thru the crossings. No more byzantine and delay-causing inspections and rejections. Reapair bombed-out roads leading to distribution centres Provide security guarantees via a humanitarian corridor and deconfliction. Stop hampering UNRWA's work and allow them into the north. It's not rocket science, these are practical and doable steps that Israel clearly refuses to do. I imagine this is why the ICC ruled the way it did, it looked at all the facts and evidence.

Gaza needs these immediate steps now. An independent authority is useless without Israel's cooperation and WILLINGNESS to end the starvation. I have not yet seen evidence of that.

[LauraInLA]

6. Here's one article, if you're interested in learning about this issue.

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2024/0314/Hamas-gambled-with-our-lives-Gazans-are-now-daring-to-speak-out

[AloeVera]

8. Thanks. It is interesting.

Rarely do we hear from ordinary people in Gaza from a credible, unbiased source.

This is the saddest part, and unfortunately true. However it does put the lie to the oft-repeated claim that Palestinians are all guilty, all supported Oct 7th etc.

We did not choose to be in a war that takes us from our homes, [takes] the lives of loved ones, and puts our lives in a death game that we knew nothing about,” says Bisan Nateel, a youth organizer for a local Gaza nongovernmental organization.

“Hamas didn’t warn us or give any instructions to protect or help people. I don’t know what they were thinking or what they expected people to do, but this is unacceptable for everyone in Gaza,” says Walid, an aid worker in central Gaza who declined to use his full name. “I feel that Hamas gambled with our lives at stake, and lost.

[sarisataka]

9. One could ask why no one is paying attention

To Egypt refusing to allow any aid through Rafah. But that would require taking a nano-iota of attention off Israel.

[AloeVera]

10. Egypt did not violate the 1979 Peace Treaty and 2005 Agreement.

Israel did, by unilaterally ceasing control of the Philadelphia Corridor where Rafah is, and putting military forces at Egypt's doorstep.

One could ask why Israel would do that and then expect Egypt to play along. Of course Netanyahu knew the consequences of seizing the crossing. You would almost think that it was a strategy to shut down the crossing.

Egypt does not want to be seen
as cooperating with Israel's military, does not want to be subject to Israel's control, and insists the crossing be run by Civil Defense, as before May 7. Not Hamas, not Fatah, Civil Defense is neither. One could ask why Israel won't allow that.

There is also this:

May 20 (Reuters) - The cessation of aid deliveries through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip is connected to the threat posed to humanitarian work by Israel's military operation in the area, Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday.

"Now there is a military presence on the outskirts of the Rafah crossing and military operations that put aid convoys and truck drivers in danger," Sameh Shoukry told reporters after meeting his Greek counterpart in Cairo.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/threat-israeli-operations-preventing-rafah-crossing-aid-deliveries-says-egypt-2024-05-20/

Netanyahu likes to distract and shift the blame by twisting facts but it really doesn't work too well for him anymore.

[sarisataka]

13. You illustrated my point perfectly

Knowing now that it was Egypt who sabotaged the ceasefire agreement, https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143244020 it appears they have their own agenda. Once again, the Palestinians are the pawns.

[AloeVera]

14. I try to focus on root causes, not distractions.

So thanks...

As for that Egyptian officer who acted alone and extremely irresponsibly, dishonestly, he was wrong.
But that's another story.