The US military has said the installation of a floating pier for the delivery of humanitarian aid off Gaza has been completed, with officials ready to begin ferrying supplies into the territory, where much of the population faces imminent starvation owing to the continuing Israel-Hamas war.
Ordered two months ago by the president, Joe Biden, the US military transported the system overnight from the Israeli port of Ashdod, about 20 miles north of Gaza.
Earlier, a US defence official said in a statement to NBC “components of the temporary pier that make up our joint logistics over-the-shore capability, along with military vessels involved in its construction, began moving from the Port of Ashdod towards Gaza”.
American authorities fear that aid provision in a region close to famine could be overrun by hungry people, leading to chaos and putting civilians’ lives at risk.
The nearby Kerem Shalom crossing into Israel is “operational”, UN officials say, but continuing fighting and multiple logistical obstacles, such as a lack of staff, are limiting deliveries of aid to a bare minimum.
Officials from the Israeli security service, Shin Bet, presented the proposal on a visit to Cairo on Wednesday, amid rising tensions between the two countries after Israel’s military advance last week into Rafah.
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Hamas did actually fire mortars at the beach before the pier was anchored, targeting the IDF. I don't think they're going to fire at the pier itself or any other militaries.
