US plan for temporary pier in Gaza a 'glaring distraction'

11/03/2024

Palestine

Palestinians in Rafah on the Egyptian border – once a town of 300,000, but now hosting 1.5 million displaced people from all over Gaza. January 2024 © MSF

Palestinians in Rafah on the Egyptian border – once a town of 300,000, but now hosting 1.5 million displaced people from all over Gaza – struggle to find clean water for drinking, cooking or washing. Living conditions for people in this part of the enclave are desperate – a result of the overcrowding and of the lack of clean water, toilets, showers and sewerage systems, aggravated by the cold winter weather. January 2024 © MSF

On March 7, President Biden announced plans for the US military to build a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea in order to help deliver humanitarian aid. Today the US also issued a joint statement with the European Commission, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom announcing the activation of a "maritime corridor" to support humanitarian assistance.

Avril Benoît, executive director for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA, gave the below statement following these announcements:

"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. The food, water, and medical supplies so desperately needed by people in Gaza are sitting just across the border. Israel needs to facilitate rather than block the flow of supplies. This is not a logistics problem; it is a political problem. Rather than look to the US military to build a work-around, the US should insist on immediate humanitarian access using the roads and entry points that already exist."

"In the past months, the US has vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire—which is the only way to ensure a real scale up in emergency assistance. We reiterate our call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire to stop the killing of thousands more civilians and allow for the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid."

On February 22, 2024, Christopher Lockyear, secretary general of the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), addressed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

OUR RESPONSE TO THE ISRAEL-GAZA WAR

Will you support our emergency response work?

Help us provide lifesaving medical care during emergencies by making a donation today.

Donate now

Gaza: Healthcare workers grapple with the mental health impact of an unyielding war

Healthcare workers in Gaza bearing the burden of unprecedented challenges while trying...

Gaza: Al-Shifa hospital in ruins

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)is horrified that Al-Shifa hospital is in ...

Gaza: Warring parties must ensure safety of staff and patients in Al-Shifa hospital

Jerusalem, 18 March 2024 - As Israeli Forces announced on 18 March that they were conducting a military operation inside...

Women on the frontline: Defying the consequences of conflict to care for each other

In contexts of conflict and war around the world, women are fulfilling indispensable roles to address th...

Gaza: People killed while waiting for food aid

Over 100 people were killed and about 750 wounded, according to local health authorities, after Israeli forces reportedly opened fire as Palestinia...

Gaza: Attacks on humanitarian workers make vital assistance near impossible

One month ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional measures ordering Israel to prevent...

Doctors Without Borders to UN Security Council: The people of Gaza need an immediate and sustained ceasefire now

In an address today, Doctors Without Borders Secretary General called for urgent action in Gaza.

Gaza: Doctors Without Borders strongly condemns Israeli attack on Al-Mawasi shelter which killed two and injured six

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing ...