The US says it is “accidental” that the deadly Israeli operation took place near a floating dock built to deliver aid to Gaza.
The United States stressed that its temporary aid pier in Gaza was not used in the operation to rescue Israeli prisoners in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, which killed more than 270 people.
The Pentagon said Monday that reports linking the pier to Saturday’s Israeli attack, which resulted in the release of four prisoners held by Hamas, are “inaccurate.”
“It was close, but I think it was accidental. Once again, the pier, the equipment, the personnel supporting this humanitarian effort had nothing to do with the [Israeli military] rescue operation,” Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder told reporters.
He added that the Israeli operation – despite its proximity to the US floating dock – does not put American personnel at “greater risk”.
“To underline, the temporary pier on the coast of Gaza was created for a single purpose: to help transport urgently needed additional life-saving assistance to Gaza,” Ryder said.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that the Israeli military used a helicopter on a beach “not far” from the U.S. dock to evacuate three of the captives and the soldiers who freed them.
The Israeli military intensely shelled the Nuseirat area during the operation, killing at least 274 people, including dozens of women and children, according to Palestinian authorities in Gaza.
President Joe Biden’s administration praised the rescue of the captives.
“We welcome the rescue of four hostages who, after eight months of captivity, were finally reunited with their families in Israel. The United States will not rest until all hostages return home,” the State Department said in a statement Saturday.
Although the US military denied involvement in the attack, several international media outlets, including The New York Times, reported that US officials provided information that helped in the operation.
Hamas condemned Washington’s alleged involvement in the mission, saying it “proves once again the complicity of the US administration and its full participation in the war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip”.
The Palestinian group said the attack also raises questions about the concern expressed by the US about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Biden announced the decision to build the humanitarian pier in March, amid the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which raised fears of famine.
The US floating dock was completed in May, but within weeks it suffered damage due to bad weather, requiring repairs. The pier was reassembled on Friday.
Aid groups have argued for weeks that the US dock is not an adequate substitute for delivering humanitarian assistance via land routes.
In late May, 20 humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, called the US-installed dock part of “cosmetic changes” that fail to adequately resolve the crisis.
“As Israeli attacks intensify in Rafah, the unpredictable flow of aid to Gaza has created a mirage of improved access, while the humanitarian response is, in reality, on the brink of collapse,” the groups said in a statement.
Nuseirat’s attack could further deepen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) halted aid deliveries to Gaza following the operation.
“Two of our warehouses were bombed yesterday, so we stepped back just for a moment to make sure we are in a safe condition and on safe ground before we restart,” WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain told CBS News on Sunday. .
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
