The US military has resumed its Gaza humanitarian airdrop operations following the collapse of the temporary offshore pier constructed nearly a month ago.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported the humanitarian airdrop, which included “life-saving humanitarian assistance.”
According to CENTCOM, over 10 metric tons of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) were delivered while the US has airdropped over 1,050 metric tons of humanitarian assistance to date, as claimed by the US government.
CENTCOM stated future airdrops have already been planned.
Meanwhile, conservative US lawmakers have been criticizing President Joe Biden’s humanitarian relief operations.
US Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL) called the collapse a “kind of a metaphor for this administration's Middle East policy."
According to the Middle East Monitor, the pier collapse preceding the latest airdrop cost American taxpayers $320 million.
Representative Waltz claimed US military officials he spoke with had repeatedly warned the Biden administration of the high likelihood the pier would fail.
The pier was intended to deliver aid through the sea but was only able to do so for a few days before rough seas damaged significant portions of it.
Waltz criticized the entire operation, explaining that out of the “sixteen trucks of humanitarian aid that reached land, eleven of the sixteen were looted.”
Some sources allege Hamas was behind the looting and took the humanitarian aid for themselves.
Simultaneously, the Israeli government has entered an internal crisis as war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has quit the government.
Gantz departed due to disagreeing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war with Hamas.
Prime Minister Netanyahu lamented Gantz’s departure, claiming “This is not the time to abandon the campaign - this is the time to join forces.”
