The maritime corridor for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza is due to go into operation in the next few days. The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have revealed the operational details of this initiative and the planned course of the mission.
The London International Media Hub hosted a virtual briefing this Wednesday, May 15, 2024, featuring two senior US officials, to provide an update on the status of the establishment of a maritime corridor to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza through the Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) capability.
Speaking at the conference, Daniel Dieckhaus, Response Director – USAID’s Levant Response Management Team, said that the situation in Gaza remains extremely challenging, marked by deteriorating humanitarian conditions. Insecurity is increasing, particularly in Rafah, causing suffering among civilians.
He assured us that the United States is working tirelessly to step up assistance by all available means to deal with the consequences of this crisis. “To give an idea of the gravity of the situation, the entire population of Gaza, some 2.2 million people, is facing acute food insecurity, requiring urgent food assistance as the threat of starvation looms. More than half the population of northern Gaza is facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, with nearly 30% of children suffering from severe malnutrition”, he pointed out.
In southern Gaza, he continued, almost a quarter of the population is affected by this critical food insecurity. As a result, humanitarian organizations are redoubling their efforts to provide vital aid to mitigate the effects of the impending famine, however, food alone is not enough, lamented Dieckhaus, noting that nutritional treatment, clean drinking water and support for health professionals to reach mothers and children in need of treatment for malnutrition are needed to prevent any further deterioration in the humanitarian situation.
He also pointed out that this critical situation in Gaza is further complicated by what is happening in Rafah, where some 450,000 people have been forced to flee since May 6, thus risking aggravating an already worrying humanitarian catastrophe. In addition, humanitarian actors are facing enormous difficulties in getting aid to Rafah, due to the closure of critical border crossings, as well as access to warehouses and aid distribution.
Despite these challenges, USAID and the U.S. Department of Defense are working together to increase humanitarian aid deliveries, notably by setting up a maritime corridor, Dieckhaus revealed. He explained that this corridor includes the construction of a temporary dock in the Mediterranean Sea to facilitate the independent and impartial delivery of humanitarian aid by humanitarian organizations.
He explained that this maritime corridor is essential to guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers and the delivery of vital aid to Gaza. Work on the quay has been completed and the corridor should be operational shortly.
“We will maintain our pressure on the Israeli government to open more land crossings, remove obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid and redouble its efforts to prevent the killing of aid workers and innocent civilians”, he said
For his part, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command, reported that USAID support for humanitarian aid in Gaza is a priority, indicating that the U.S. military is providing logistical assistance for the delivery of humanitarian aid. In addition, efforts are being made to increase aid by all means, including by land, air and sea, he noted before pointing out that US government policy aims to complement land aid with other delivery methods.
“To date, the United States, along with more than a dozen partners, has carried out more than 38 humanitarian airdrop missions. These missions have primarily involved dropping humanitarian aid into northern Gaza. With our partners, we have delivered more than 3 million meals to Gaza via airdrops, including more than 1 million from the United States. These airdrops are still going on, and we are fully committed to the successful delivery of aid by sea too”, he stressed.
The vice-admiral also recalled that in March, the President of the United States decreed the establishment of a temporary dock for the delivery of aid to Gaza. Aware of the roughly two-month timeframe required to make it a reality, the team completed construction of the floating dock last week, he revealed. He also noted that the dock’s components were loaded aboard ships on the east coast of the United States, then transported 11,000 kilometers before being assembled off the Gaza coast. Attachment of the temporary dock to the Gaza shoreline and the start of aid delivery are scheduled for the next few days.
He added: “The main purpose of the dock is to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, and nothing else. It is a temporary structure. The sea route, as specified, is a complement and is not intended to replace the land routes to Gaza. It should also be stressed that this effort is supported internationally and coordinated with the United Nations. Finally, it is absolutely certain that there will be no deployment of American military troops on the ground in Gaza.
Regarding the progress of this mission, the Deputy Commander explained that the process includes the transport of humanitarian aid to Cyprus by air or sea, where it is prepared for delivery. It is then loaded onto large ships and transported to a floating platform off the Gaza coast. This platform serves as a transshipment point for smaller military vessels, which then approach the coast to unload the aid on a temporary floating dock. Trucks then transport the aid ashore for subsequent distribution by the UN and the World Food Program inside Gaza.
“This is a 100% humanitarian mission, and any attack on those working on it is an attack on aid to the people of Gaza. We will continue to assess and reassess security, reporting on our operation every day. We have two coordination cells in place, one in Cyprus and one in Israel. For weeks, we have been working hand in hand with the USAID team, the Cypriots, the Israelis and the United Nations to support the planning effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza”, stated Brad Cooper.
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