March 9, 2024 (EIRNS)—There are many critics of President Joe Biden’s plan to set up a temporary pier to facilitate the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza. Some of them, as reported by the Middle East Eye, include the following:
Juliette Touma, communications director for Unrwa, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, told MEE that Palestinian civilians need a minimum of 500 aid trucks to come into Gaza every day. In February, the average daily figure was 99 trucks, while in March it was 140. “Any effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza is very welcome,” Touma told MEE. “However, there is a much easier and more efficient way to respond to people’s desperate needs. This is through more consistent humanitarian deliveries via the road through the crossing points that connect Gaza with Israel.”
Kenneth Roth, a human rights expert at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs, told MEE that “Biden’s plan for deliveries by sea is far from enough.” It “begs the question of who will distribute the food, since most people in Gaza do not live on the beach, and Biden has joined in Israel’s efforts to destroy Unrwa, the most effective delivery vehicle,” he added.
