Prominent aid organizations dubbed the Biden administration’s plans to construct a temporary pier to help the flow of much-needed aid in Gaza as “not realistic” and a “distraction.”
Following Biden’s announcement in his State of the Union address last night, the International Rescue Committee continued to call for a “sustained” cease-fire.
“A temporary pier that could take weeks to construct or airdrops are not a solution,” it said in a statement. “The U.S. must use its influence to ensure that Israel lifts its siege of Gaza, reopens its crossings, including the Karni and Erez crossings in the north, and allows the safe and unimpeded movement of humanitarian workers and aid — including fuel, food, and medical supplies.”
Since the beginning of the war, the Israeli government has imposed a near-total siege on food and water supplies in Gaza, and its military inspects aid trucks coming into the Palestinian territory.
Doctors without Borders and Medical Aid for Palestinians, a British-based charity, similarly criticized the Biden plan as not enough to stave off cases of malnutrition, infectious disease and looming famine in the war-torn enclave.
“The US plan for a temporary pier in Gaza to increase the flow of humanitarian aid is a glaring distraction from the real problem: Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punishing siege,” said Avril Benoît, Doctor’s without Borders executive director in the U.S.
She called on Israeli authorities to “facilitate rather than block” critical aid supplies as humanitarian relief workers report numerous aid trucks either rejected or delayed while sitting at the two functioning border crossings.
“This is not a logistics problem; it is a political problem. Rather than look to the US military to build a work-around, the U.S. should insist on immediate humanitarian access using the roads and entry points that already exist,” Benoît added.
Melanie Ward, CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians, said the U.S. and its allies must use their “substantial weight” to pressure Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza for “safe and unfettered access for aid and aid workers.”
“Airdrops, temporary seaports and the like are not realistic or lasting solutions to stave off looming famine and sustain life in Gaza,” she said.
