For months, aid has idled at the border of the Gaza Strip, a territory that’s been battered by bombs, starvation, and disease since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel — and the fierce Israeli counteroffensive that’s followed.
In recent weeks, the United States has announced a plan to build a floating maritime pier off of Gaza’s shore, one that it says could funnel 2 million meals to the territory’s population every day. But humanitarian organizations say a maritime corridor will do little to address the most persistent challenges in getting aid to Gaza, especially when the most efficient channels to do so — those on land — have been choked for months.
“When I read about the pier, my reaction was: really?” said Deepmala Mahla, chief humanitarian officer at CARE International. “First air drops, and now a floating pier, all when we have hundreds and thousands of food and other required material just miles away from the border, all ready to get in?”