A long-awaited temporary dock built to bring urgent aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza has anchored on a beach across from the besieged enclave, the US military said.
US Central Command said its personnel anchored at the pier at around 7.40am local time (5.40am BST) as part of a mission to deliver additional humanitarian aid to loop, where thousands of people face famine because not enough aid supplies have arrived for months.
Israel recently seized the key Rafah border crossing in its advance toward that southern city on the border with Egypt, complicating the delivery of critical supplies.
“As part of this effort, no US troops entered Gaza. Trucks carrying humanitarian assistance are expected to begin arriving ashore in the coming days. The United Nations will receive the aid and coordinate its distribution in Gaza,” one post said. in X.
Read more:
Israeli protesters attack and block aid trucks
Strike against UN vehicle kills at least one worker
However, the UN has yet to determine how it will be involved in distributing the aid once it leaves the dock.
According to military leaders, the operation will begin slowly to test the system, with an initial figure of about 90 aid trucks per day expected to quickly increase to 150.
An initial shipment from Cyprus is estimated to be enough for one month of supplies for 11,000 people, according to a defense official cited by Reuters.
In its efforts to increase aid to Gaza, where Israel has launched a powerful bombing campaign following the October 7 attack, Washington is likely to face challenges that have bedeviled the UN and other aid agencies for months.
They include the risks of delivering critical aid in a war zone, as well as severe fuel shortages for trucks.
“Once food or supplies are brought into the Gaza Strip, whether from the dock or from the crossing points, there is no security and… there is no fuel,” said Bob Kitchen, vice president for emergencies at the International Committee of Rescue.
Ridden with logistical, climate and security challenges, the sea route is designed to increase the amount of aid reaching the Gaza Strip, but is not seen as a substitute for the much cheaper land deliveries that aid agencies say will They are much more sustainable.
Ships full of aid will be deposited at a port facility built by the Israelis just southwest of Gaza City and then distributed by aid groups.
Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of Rafah has displaced some 600,000 people, a quarter of Gaza’s population, U.N. officials say.
Another 100,000 civilians have fled parts of northern Gaza now that the Israeli army has restarted combat operations there.
Pentagon officials said the fighting in Gaza did not threaten the new coastal aid distribution area, but made clear that security conditions will be closely monitored and could lead to the closure of the sea route, even temporarily.
The site has already been the target of mortar fire during its construction and Hamas, the ruling militant group in Gaza responsible for the massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, has threatened to attack any foreign force that “occupies “the Gaza Strip.
The “protection of participating U.S. forces is a top priority. And as such, in recent weeks, the United States and Israel have developed an integrated security plan to protect all personnel who are working,” said Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper. deputy commander of the US Army Central Command.
“We are confident in the ability of this security agreement to protect those involved.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
