The Pentagon says none of the aid unloaded from the US dock off the coast of Gaza has been delivered to the wider Palestinian population.

CNN
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None of the aid was unloaded A temporary dock established by the United States off the coast of Gaza They have been delivered to the broader Palestinian population, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, as the United States works with the United Nations and Israel to identify safe delivery routes within the enclave.

Several desperate Gazans blocked trucks carrying aid from the pier over the weekend, prompting the United Nations to suspend deliveries until logistical challenges were resolved.

The United States is working with Israel and the United Nations to create “alternative routes” for the safe delivery of 569 tons of aid that have been transferred to Gaza since last week, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday.

Asked whether any aid had been delivered to the people of Gaza, Ryder said: “As of today, I don’t think so.” He added that the aid was kept in the staging area on the beach, but as of Tuesday it had begun to be transported to warehouses for distribution throughout Gaza as alternative routes were established.

A US official told CNN that the Department of Defense and the United Nations are still working to determine how much aid can be kept in the staging area inside Gaza at any given time.

The amount of aid reaching the Gaza coast from its initial staging area in Cyprus was less than the Pentagon’s initial estimates.

Since Friday, more than 569 metric tons of humanitarian aid has been delivered via the temporary dock, called JLOTS, or Joint Logistics Across the Shore, to the Gaza shore to be distributed by humanitarian partners, Ryder said. But Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, said last week that the US initially hopes to move 500 tons of aid per day through the dock, and expand that over time.

Over the weekend, as trucks began transporting aid delivered on the floating dock, CNN reported that a group of men in Gaza intercepted the aid, saying they did not trust it was actually intended for the Palestinian people.

“I have doubts,” Mounir Ayyad, a Gaza resident, told CNN near the pier. “I do not understand this floating dock, what it refers to, or what its purpose is. They say it’s to help, but people are apprehensive. Is this aid or something else? “We know that the United States has never supported the Palestinian cause, so it is unreasonable for it to provide us with assistance without getting something in return.”

Ryder acknowledged Tuesday that some of the initial aid brought into Gaza “was intercepted by some people who took that aid from those vehicles.”

“We fully appreciate the desperation, but also fully appreciate the fact that it’s very important that this aid gets to the people who need it most, and that will continue to be the focus. So I understand, you know, focusing on why this doesn’t work, or Why it doesn’t work, but what we’re focusing on is how we can work to ensure that the Palestinian people get aid.

Pentagon he said in April The goal was to deliver approximately 500 tons of aid – the equivalent of 90 truckloads – per day to hungry Gazans, with the intention of operating up to 150 trucks per day. The sidewalk was finally there Headed to Gaza Last week, the humanitarian situation in the enclave worsened.

Sonali Korde, assistant director of USAID’s Office of Humanitarian Assistance, said last week that conditions in Gaza “have not improved, and in the past two weeks we have witnessed the closure of a vital border crossing, at a time when it is crucial that we see more movement for aid.” Across Gaza, 2.2 million people, the total population, face acute food insecurity.

I faced the United States A number of challenges and the dock, including planning for Israeli operations in Rafah, which may raise security concerns; Early issues regarding who will transport aid from the dock to Gaza, where the United States has repeatedly said there will be no American troops on the ground; And logistical challenges such as sea and weather conditions can continue to limit the ability to use them.

Ryder said on Tuesday that the United States continues to push for aid to be delivered in other ways, including by land. He added that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin continues to hold talks with his Israeli counterpart regarding efforts to deliver aid through land crossings, including through the Rafah crossing.

When White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli officials as part of his trip to the Middle East over the weekend, the Israelis offered their latest thoughts on a potential Rafah incursion during which the US side asked a lot of “difficult questions.” According to a senior administration official. This person indicated that the two sides would continue those discussions, but the Israelis were still incorporating American comments and concerns as they continued to work through those plans. The official added that the two sides share the common goal of destroying Hamas.

As part of the discussions with the Israelis, US officials also made a series of “specific requests” regarding humanitarian aid, which they agreed to implement, according to the official.

“I thought the talks were very constructive, and now we look forward to seeing some of what has been agreed upon here in the coming days,” the official said.

Just on Tuesday, according to this person, more than 370 pallets of aid were distributed in Gaza.

The United States also conducted a number of airdrops of humanitarian aid to Gaza in partnership with the Royal Jordanian Air Force. It is unclear how regularly these things will continue; Rader said Tuesday that this is “an option available to us” but declined to say whether such efforts would continue “in the future.”

The last airdrop of humanitarian aid announced by US Central Command was conducted on May 9.

“This is not a single American military effort, this is an interagency effort. It is an international effort. We understand the dire need of the Palestinian people right now,” Ryder said of the effort to get aid to Gaza. “And we will continue to work to get them what they need.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Sam Fossum, Kayla Tosh and MJ Lee contributed to this report.