'Who is going to distribute it?': the key flaw in US's plan to build aid port in Gaza [View all]

Earlier DU thread: Biden to announce construction of temporary port on Gaza coast for humanitarian aid

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Source: The Guardian

‘Who is going to distribute it?’: the key flaw in US’s plan to build aid port in Gaza

‘You need drivers, trucks and a distribution system that doesn’t exist,’ says president of Refugees International aid advocacy group

Julian Borger in Washington
Fri 8 Mar 2024 00.09 GMT
Last modified on Fri 8 Mar 2024 01.48 GMT

The US plan to build a floating port off the Gaza coast is a bold move, reminiscent of the Mulberry harbours built after D-day in Normandy, but there are serious concerns that what relief it brings will be too little too late for Palestinians facing starvation.

“When we talk about the sea route, it’s going to take weeks to set up and we are talking about a population that is starving now. We have already seen children dying of hunger,” said Ziad Issa, the head of humanitarian policy at the ActionAid charity.

US officials have presented the plan as Washington taking leadership and “not waiting for the Israelis”, but the Israelis will still have a say on how effective it is in delivering aid, especially in the north, where the threat of famine is most imminent.

Israeli inspectors will be in the Cypriot port of Larnaca, scrutinising cargoes of aid going into southern Gaza, and the inspections will provide Israel a tool with which to regulate the flow in the name of security vetting.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/07/gaza-floating-port-aid-palestinians-impact