Pictured while still being assembled, the US Navy lighterage system craft that’s now operating as a pier for aid in Gaza<\/p>\n
None of the aid that has passed through the pier built by the United States in Gaza has been distributed to Palestinians yet, the Pentagon said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
According to Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, 569 metric tons of aid from many countries had made it across the temporary pier and there is \u201cmore aid on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryder said<\/a> the aid is in Gaza for humanitarian partners to distribute.<\/p>\n President Biden announced the floating pier in his State of the Union address in March.\u00a0It was completed\u00a0recently, and the military said the\u00a0first aid shipment<\/a>\u00a0was driven across the\u00a0pier\u00a0last Friday, ramping up the United States\u2019 response to the conflict.<\/p>\n On Saturday, reports of hungry crowds looking for World Food Program trucks transporting aid that came through the pier prompted the organization to stop its deliveries Sunday and Monday,\u00a0the Associated Press reported.<\/a><\/p>\n The agency warned that the pier, which cost $320 million, may fail unless Israel starts ensuring the conditions the humanitarian groups need to operate safely.<\/p>\n During the press briefing Tuesday, Ryder said moving forward the \u201csafety and security\u201d of the humanitarian aid organization workers is \u201cgoing to continue to be critical, and we\u2019ll continue to work closely with the international community on that front.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, the goal of course, is to get this \u2026 humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people who need it most,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Ryder confirmed that delivery movements have resumed as of Tuesday and the Pentagon anticipates that aid will be distributed to Palestinians in \u201cthe coming days here, of course conditions permitting.\u201d<\/p>\n