Levant Response Operations Chief At A Press Availability On The Humanitarian Maritime Corridor

DOUG STROPES: Good morning, as you heard, my name is Doug Stropes. I'm with the U.S. Agency for International Development and I'm currently here supporting this response in the role as the lead for operations. In that role, I oversee the operational aspects for USAID, and I serve specifically on what you all saw yesterday when you're in Israel, the Convoy Management Board, the CMB, as we call it. 

The Convoy Management Board, as you remember, is made up of Government of Israeli IDF officials, Department of Defense officials from the United States, USAID and also the UN community represented by UN OCHA there. So there's my role as I play here on the response and just share some opening remarks with you and then have some question and answers later. 

Just over a month ago, shipments and urgently needed humanitarian assistance began arriving in Gaza through the humanitarian maritime corridor or what you all were exposed to and learned more about yesterday. As you heard, it's a multinational and combined effort involving the United States, led by USAID and firmly partnered with the United States Department of Defense led by Lieutenant General Frank, who you all met yesterday, and his Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines supporting him in that effort.

We also have strong partnerships with the Republic of Cyprus and the Government of Israel, the United Nations, international donors, such as the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. We're incredibly grateful to all of our partners, especially the Cypriots, who have been key to ensuring the safe and swift screening of transport of commodities from Cyprus through the humanitarian corridor. We're also pleased to have the support and partnership with the Department of Defense as I mentioned, which established the maritime corridor to the pier to facilitate the rapid and safe delivery of assistance to those who need it most in Gaza.

The purpose of the maritime corridor is to move aid to humanitarian aid organizations that are ready to facilitate its distribution to Palestinian communities throughout Gaza. They do so embracing the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. 

As of June 25, almost 7,000 metric tons of humanitarian assistance has been delivered into Gaza through the humanitarian maritime corridor. Of that nearly 1,000 metric tons have been collected for further distribution by the United Nations. Also, yesterday, we established a demonstration of the ability and the flexibility of this maritime corridor that's been developed by being able to demonstrate that we could onload commodities here, meet the security requirements of the government of Israel, transport them to the port of Ashdod, then immediately download them and bring them into Gaza without having to go through additional customs or delays in Israel. So, with coordination by both governments, we've demonstrated the flexibility and versatility of this corridor, not only to support the JLOTS pier that we have established, but also to expand into the port of Ashdod and continue to deliver this humanitarian assistance where it's needed in a timely and flexible manner.

And while certainly critical to reach the humanitarian maritime corridors augmenting, not replacing the land crossings. That cannot be overemphasized that the humanitarian corridor with all of its flexibility will never be able to replace, or even substitute the vitally needed land crossings that must be reopened. And let me be clear, it's the security conditions across Gaza that must be improved in order to help the people of Gaza. 

We must focus on the peaceful resolution of the conflict, to enable a security environment that allows the humanitarian commodities that are available now to be distributed, and put into the hands and the mouths of those who need them at this moment. Because the stacking up of these goods, most of which is owned by the United Nations at this time, at both Kerem Shalom, and at the JLOTS pier shows us that there's both a willingness and resources to address the humanitarian needs. And the UN is continuing to work around the clock to get this lifesaving assistance where it needs to go. They continue to focus on how they can get it from these crossings from these holding areas, to the communities and the individuals that need that, and are working tirelessly to do so.

What is lacking and challenging the United Nations and other humanitarian actors is the lack of an operating environment where they're able to effectively utilize all of these resources that have been made available. We will continue to do everything that we can to press for expedited and predictable land crossings, supplemented by this maritime corridor we'll be highlighting today. In order to make all this possible, humanitarian agencies who have lost over 270 staff in this war, we need to be able to give them an environment where they can safely deliver. 

In my experiences, and over 15 years working in this field, I've worked in challenging situations in northern Ethiopia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Venezuela, and Haiti. And I've never seen a more challenging or complex environment for the humanitarian community to work. Humanitarians answer the call similar to first responders and militaries around the world, they run toward the sound of danger, they run towards where those needs are, and try to figure out how they can help those most vulnerable when they need it. So we need to help augment and create an environment that our humanitarians can work in this space without being targeted, injured or killed. 

This crisis continues to present daily challenges within Gaza. There's fighting between Israel and Hamas, there's checkpoints, and there's growing lawlessness in the area that prevents the safe distribution or transport of aid within the region. And these challenges have been and will continue to be front and center of all of our discussions with the Israeli and humanitarian partners on how to safely support operations to get this assistance where it needs to go. 

Thank you very much for giving me this time today. I look forward later to your questions.

QUESTION: How long has the corridor been in operation?

MR. STROPES: So the corridor as you saw yesterday, was operational today, and it's very dependent upon the weather. We rely upon our partners in the Department of Defense to tell us how long it can safely be maintained to contribute to get that aid across. We're going to take every opportunity we can while the weather conditions permit to deliver as much aid as we can into Gaza. So it's available and right where it needs to be. 

Why we really focus on the JLOTS corridor, is that the pier, as you saw yesterday, puts it into Gaza, it puts it closest to where it needs to be when the conditions permit for that safe distribution. So I can't give you a timeline on when it will specifically stop operations. But it will continue to be there as long as the weather conditions permit, which were vulnerable to the sea state, the corridor itself is vulnerable to the waves as they shift to the connectors or put close together, they can only sustain so much versatility there, at which point it becomes either unsafe to operate the personnel on it, or unsafe for those conditions. But it's been out there in some pretty trying situations. And we're real proud of what it's been able to provide so far – more than ever expected.

QUESTION: What are the obstacles that prevent the distribution of aid?

MR. STROPES: So the obstacles that are preventing some of the distribution are the security environment around the JLOTS pier itself, and the assessment made by our partners that we bring in to deliver that assistance. Currently, there's a security review ongoing on the challenges in the area, and how they can ensure that the assistance is able to get to where it's needed, and not encountering the lawlessness, the gang activity, the ongoing war between the two parties, or the desperate needs of people there to be able to try to get it where it needs to be in those warehouses. So the biggest obstacle right now is just creating a secure environment for the further distribution of the assistance. 

QUESTION: When you say gang activity, they say stolen or taken? What exactly is happening? 

MR. STROPES: Right, what we're hearing from our partners is that the looting appears to have expanded beyond just self-distribution. It expanded recently beyond just those in need, stopping the vehicles to try to get the assistance out, and it appears to be organized not in the sense of a large-scale organization, but there is organized elements that are stopping and taking the commodities from the trucks. So, gang-like activity, we're not talking about the situation on the streets of Haiti right now, as much as we are folks that know where the trucks are going to be or they're able to predict where they are, stop them, and then in an organized manner, remove the assistance from them.

QUESTION: Are the people delivering the aid being shot at? 

MR. STROPES: So within the JLOTS corridor, where we've been delivering from and we're focused on, there's been no reports of armed intruders, excuse me, armed folks, stopping the convoys or impeding them. There's been no reports of personal safety of the drivers being threatened. When we expand that aperture beyond that, we are hearing from partners through some of the land crossings, that the convoys have encountered violence in the sense that groups are armed. However, none have been injured or threatened in that, excuse me, shot at, in that regard that we're tracking.

QUESTION: Where are these incidents of aid being taken along the route? 

MR. STROPES: It varies. It can vary anywhere along that route, depending on the crossing point to where those warehouses are, that assistance needs to be delivered from. 

SCOTT FONTAINE: I am just going to point out that, the dire humanitarian situation is one thing that leads into this kind of civil unrest and provides a ground for this kind of stuff to flourish which is why we hit on the need obviously, to get more humanitarian assistance in the Gaza but also for the safety and security situation to improve to you know, because they'll complement each other

QUESTION: On the seven thousand metric tons of commodities, what are the kinds of supplies, are they medical supplies? Have Israelis restricted items?

MR. STROPES: So there's been no restrictions on the variety of commodities that can be imported. A majority of the assistance that's currently awaiting to be picked up is food supplies because that is the greatest need at the moment. However, there are commodities there also to address medical needs, to address shelters, there are tents and repair kits there. So there is quite a variety of assistance that is ready to be distributed and that has been distributed to date through all of the various crossings, including JLOTS.

QUESTION: What are the daily needs of the people of Gaza relative to what's getting there through JLOTS?

MR. STROPES: So forecasting into the future in order to stem the awful humanitarian situation the Gazans find themselves in, we've calculated that it will require a steady stream of 600 trucks per day to address the needs and return them out of a humanitarian crisis situation. So prior to the war in Gaza, there was 500 trucks a day going in to meet those needs. We estimate there will be a need for a total of 600 to address the needs and return them out of the crisis situation.

QUESTION: Can JLOTS do that?

MR. STROPES: JLOTS has the capacity. You're looking at the Trinity right there that has tremendous capacity. It's coupled with other ships that have been brought into the fleet that can deliver countless pallets at this time, excuse me, countless pallets, which equaled truckloads and just get them down the pier and get them delivered there. There's no limitation on the throughput that we're able to achieve. And in recent days, we've actually achieved some of the highest numbers of assistance that's gone through that pier and put into Gaza. 

QUESTION: How many ships are currently rotating in and out of the area?

MR. STROPES: I'll defer to [Lieutenant] General [Patrick] Frank on how many ships we currently have available to the process.

MR. FONTAINE: Can we add though, overland Trucking is the best way to get the most assistance to people in need in Gaza and we're working with the Government of Israel and others to try to facilitate that flow of overland trucks. It's the best way to get assistance at scale to people who need it. So, JLOTS is additive. It was always perceived as in addition to overland trucks, we’re looking at all methods of transportation, but you know in the short, medium, and long term, the overland trucking is what is needed most to address those needs.