On Monday, a UN World Food Program spokesperson announced the suspension of aid delivery to Gaza via a temporary US military pier. This suspension was to allow for an assessment of the security situation.
The decision was linked to an Israeli hostage rescue operation over the weekend, which resulted in the freeing of four people. However, health officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza reported 274 people killed and almost 700 wounded, many of whom were women and children.
Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder clarified that the Israeli operation was separate from the aid delivery effort and its equipment and personnel. However, it took place near the temporary pier.
He also mentioned that the aid delivery was disrupted by high seas shortly after shipments resumed on Saturday, following repairs to the structure from storm damage it suffered last month.
Gaza has been heavily affected by Israeli operations against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, resulting in the uprooting of the coastal territory’s population and leaving them in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
