By Al-Fassel | 2024-07-15

The US military has helped deliver nearly 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the conflict, according to military sources.

Nearly 10,000 tons have been delivered via a temporary floating pier since May 17, and over 1,000 tons via airdrops carried out by the US Air Force and partner nations.

When added to aid coming over ground, the total aid enabled by the US during Operation Neptune Solace has totaled over 25,000 metric tons, the most aid ever delivered in the Middle East.

"To date, more than 8,100 metric tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered from the pier to the marshaling area where it can be collected by humanitarian organizations for onward delivery and distribution," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement July 11.

This is roughly the equivalent of 425 aid trucks, a Cypriot source told Reuters.

Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) allows equipment and sustainment supplies to reach specific areas without the benefit of a fixed port facility, according to the US military's Transportation Command.

It ensures that military forces can discharge cargo from a ship off shore and move it into an area of operations without usable port facilities, no matter the difficulty of conditions.

The shipments to Gaza were the result of exceptional collaboration and coordination between the US military and a coalition of partners and allies.

The level of aid given by the United States and its allies is in stark contrast to China, Russia, and Iran and its allied groups, who have given a fraction of the amount of aid since the start of the conflict.

Long history of humanitarian aid

The United States has employed the JLOTS system to deliver critical assistance in various regions, including in Haiti following a 2010 earthquake that devastated the infrastructure at the port in Port-au-Prince.

The system was used to transport vast amounts of supplies, including food, water and medical equipment, to areas where port facilities were damaged.

After the 2011 tsunami in Japan, the JLOTS system played a crucial role in the delivery of 227 tons of relief supplies to affected regions.

The United States provides more foreign aid than any other country in the form of money, technical assistance and commodities. Since World War II, it has distributed almost $4 trillion in foreign aid, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

US assistance has reached people in more than 150 countries and territories across the world, even volatile regions, including Ukraine, Central and East Africa, and South and Central Asia.