A U.S. soldier was critically injured on Thursday while participating in the humanitarian aid mission at the Gaza pier and has been medically evacuated to Israel, according to two defense officials who spoke to USNI News. The incident, which occurred on a staging platform two miles off the Gaza coast, also resulted in minor injuries to two other service members, who have since returned to duty.
The injuries were sustained in non-combat-related incidents while the soldier was working on the platform where trucks loaded with aid packages are transferred from cargo ships onto Army watercraft. At the time of the injury, the MV Benevides, a roll-on roll-off cargo ship, was attached to the platform. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, confirmed the details during a Pentagon briefing, emphasizing that there were no attacks targeting the pier or staging area.
The Gaza pier operation, active since last week, is a crucial part of a humanitarian mission delivering aid to Gaza. Trucks are loaded with aid in Cyprus, transported to the staging area off Gaza’s coast, and then driven onto U.S. Army watercraft. These watercraft sail to the pier anchored on Gaza’s beach, where the aid is processed and distributed. Cooper highlighted the significant impact of the operation, noting that over a million pounds of aid have been delivered to Palestinians in recent days.
Daniel Dieckhaus, USAID’s Levant response management team director, explained the complexities of the maritime corridor used for this mission. He clarified that the operation is meant to complement, not replace, existing land crossings into Gaza. The United Nations has distributed 506 tons of the 820 tons of aid delivered since Friday, with the remaining aid managed by other humanitarian organizations.
Both Cooper and Dieckhaus addressed concerns about the security and integrity of the aid deliveries. They confirmed that incidents of aid trucks being looted represent a minority of shipments. Cooper also mentioned that out of 54 trucks dispatched in the past two days, only one encountered issues.
The Gaza pier operation faces numerous challenges due to its location in an active conflict zone. A recent Hamas drone attack near the pier briefly halted humanitarian activities, although no U.S. forces were directly impacted. U.S. forces have deployed around 1000 personnel and 16 ships to support the mission, including counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar systems for force protection. The Israeli Defense Forces provide primary security, supplemented by two U.S. Navy destroyers.
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