On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon, sought to dispel what it described as misconceptions on social media that Israel organized part of the operations to free prisoners via the floating dock set up by the U.S. military off the coast of Gaza. It emphasized that these notions are false and that no member of the U.S. military participated in the operations. However, Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder acknowledged the presence of Israeli helicopters flying in an area "near" the dock, which U.S. President Joe Biden announced as a means to provide much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Ryder stated, "The operations were close, but I believe it was incidental. Again, the dock, equipment, and personnel supporting these humanitarian efforts have no connection to the rescue operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces." During a raid in Gaza on Saturday, Israeli forces freed four prisoners that Hamas had been holding since October. The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that 274 Palestinians were killed in the operation.
Ryder added that the U.S. military is trying to "respond to some of the inaccurate claims circulating on social media" regarding the dock. He continued, "The humanitarian dock facility, including its equipment, personnel, and assets, was not used in the Israel Defense Forces' rescue operation of the prisoners in Gaza. Any claim to the contrary is false." The American dock resumed operations briefly on Saturday after being idle for about two weeks, but its services were halted again on Sunday due to inclement weather. The U.S. Central Command reported that 492 tons of aid were delivered via the dock on Saturday.
Any perception that Israel could use the dock for military purposes could undermine U.S. efforts to increase the flow of aid to Palestinians and potentially heighten the threats facing U.S. forces. Ryder acknowledged the existence of misinformation regarding the role of U.S. forces in the Middle East. However, he stated that the misconceptions that Israel uses the maritime dock do not increase the threats to U.S. forces, which have air defense systems to protect them from any potential missile attacks. He said, "No, I don't think that places our forces at greater risk," without explaining how he came to that conclusion.
For its part, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated on Monday that Israeli forces used an aid truck to infiltrate the Nusairat camp in central Gaza during the weekend's prisoner rescue operation. The Palestinian Red Crescent warned in a statement about the "danger" of Israeli forces "using a humanitarian aid truck to infiltrate the Nusairat camp." It added that Israeli forces had "betrayed the people and disguised themselves under the cover of aid that civilians long for amid suffering from severe food insecurity." The Palestinian Red Crescent emphasized that this act "endangers the safety of relief workers."
