US will store aid on secure beach in Gaza as UN pauses distribution from pier

The U.S. military said Monday that it plans to stockpile aid shipments on a secure beach in Gaza during a U.N. pause on distributing food from the American-built pier after one of the deadliest days of the Israel-Hamas war.

The U.N. World Food Program, which works with U.S. officials to transfer desperately needed aid from the month-old pier to warehouses and local relief teams in Gaza, tweeted Monday that the U.N. would conduct a security review to assess the safety of its staff in handling aid deliveries from the pier. It said the pause would be temporary.

A humanitarian official familiar with the situation said the security review is expected to conclude within a few days and U.N. officials would then make decisions on resuming operations. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss planning.

The pause, which WFP head Cindy McCain first announced in a TV interview Sunday, is the latest trouble to hit the Biden administration's new sea route for bringing in aid to Palestinians. It also signals sharpened concern by the U.N. and relief organizations about their ability to safely care for Gaza's civilians during the eight-month-old war.

The review follows an Israeli military operation on Saturday that rescued four Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, in the attack that triggered the war, and left 274 Palestinians and one Israeli commando dead.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said “it’s only normal” that U.N. humanitarian officials pause and review the security situation following the Israeli operation. McCain said Sunday that two of WFP’s warehouses had been “rocketed” and a staffer injured.

When such large-scale military operations take place, Dujarric said, “you can only imagine the difficulties in