UN resumes aid distribution in Gaza, suspended due to looting

The United Nations on Friday resumed distributing humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza from a temporary pier built by the U.S., according to an NBC report citing two U.S. officials. It is the first time since June 9 that aid has been delivered after it was suspended over security concerns.

According to the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM), more than 8,831 tons of aid that humanitarian organizations could distribute to the residents of the Gaza Strip have passed through the pier, and last week 4,535 tons were brought to Gaza.

The pier will be dismantled next month and relocated to Ashdod after repeated disruptions by high seas. Israel, the US and the UN discussed alternatives, and Ashdod was considered a viable option. U.S. military officials and the IDF conducted an attempt to deliver aid from the port by land to Gaza, which passed without incident.

Some 6,800 tons of aid have been waiting in Gaza for three weeks for aid organizations to collect and distribute. “I have never seen a more challenging and complex work environment for the humanitarian community,” said Doug Stropes, division chief for USAID’s Office of Humanitarian Assistance, adding that the looting of aid trucks “now appears to be going beyond just distribution.”

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Hamas terrorists intercepted a truck delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza earlier this year

(Photo: AP)

Stopes said the looting appears to be organized. “Not in the sense of large-scale organization, but there are organized elements that are stopping and taking goods from trucks,” he said.