The News
The US military began construction of a temporary pier off the Gaza coast that aims to facilitate the delivery of more humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.
Officials said the pier should be operational by May, with plans to move 90 truckloads of aid daily at first, with up to 150 expected later on, Semafor Principals reported.
SIGNALS
Israeli military and UN came under mortar fire near pier site
Israeli soldiers and United Nations officials who visited the site on Thursday came under mortar fire from Palestinian militants and had to take cover, Israeli media reported. No US service members are expected to go ashore in Gaza during the floating pier’s construction, and the IDF has said they would offer security — but the shelling has raised concerns about the safety of those constructing the facility. The Pentagon downplayed concerns, with one senior military official telling reporters: “We don’t assess that the attack had anything to do with the … mission, or delivery of humanitarian assistance from the sea.”
Hundreds of aids workers killed in conflict
More than 224 humanitarian aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Among the most high-profile deaths were those of seven World Central Kitchen workers in early April, whose vehicles were targeted by an Israel Defense Forces airstrike after the military misidentified their convoy vehicles, which were labeled with the WCK logo, as a threat. Aid operations coordinate their deliveries with the IDF in an attempt to avoid being caught in the crossfire — but many workers have described coming under fire despite their negotiations. These “coordination systems are not protecting humanitarian workers in Gaza because they’re not being respected,” UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram told New York Magazine in a recent interview.
Aid deliveries still far below pre-war averages
About 200 truckloads of aid are entering Gaza daily — a far cry from the 500 trucks that were able to access the enclave before the war. Aid organizations have been struggling to get assistance over the border: In some cases, trucks that queue for hours to enter Gaza are turned away over a single restricted item, NBC News reported, and the poor condition of roads has made deliveries difficult. The process “is still quite sloppy and a little bit willy-nilly,” a humanitarian affairs officer with the UN’s OCHA told NBC.