US Central Command
The temporary pier will support the U.S. Agency for International Development in delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
CNN
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According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), a floating pier has been fixed on the coast of Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza from the sea.
Centcom said in a statement that its staff docked at the pier at around 7:40 a.m. local time “to support the humanitarian mission to deliver additional humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians.” The pier was being moved Wednesday from the port of Ashdod to Gaza Beach, about 30 miles away.
Centcom said trucks were expected to begin transporting humanitarian supplies overland in the coming days, while the United Nations said it would coordinate the distribution of supplies within the besieged area and no US troops entered Gaza. He added that he had not.
The Joint Land-based Logistics (JLOTS) system consists of two parts: a floating pier, where cargo is offloaded, and a causeway, which transfers cargo to logistics hubs in Gaza.
On Wednesday, the UK announced that the first shipment of humanitarian aid, including 8,400 temporary shelters, was on its way from Cyprus to Gaza. Cyprus is a transit point for humanitarian aid transported to Gaza through maritime corridors and piers.
Britain said in a statement that “assistance supplies will be distributed within Gaza as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, U.S. humanitarian supplies have already been placed on ships in Ashdod port and will be unloaded as soon as the pier is ready, the Pentagon announced.
The temporary jetty is intended to supplement aid supplies entering Gaza by land. The initial aim is to allow 90 truckloads of aid to flow into Gaza through the pier each day, Britain said. Numbers that may increase When the pier is fully operational, truck traffic reaches 150 vehicles per day.
Lt. Gen. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, stressed at a press conference Wednesday that the pier does not replace land access to Gaza and that “there are no U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza.” ”
He also explained how the process works. First, the aid arrives in Cyprus, where it is reviewed and prepared. Large commercial ships then carry the aid to “floating platforms” near the Gaza coast, where they are transferred to smaller ships that can berth at temporary piers. Once the aid arrives, it will be distributed to Gaza by the United Nations and the World Food Program.
Cooper said there are currently “hundreds of tonnes of aid ready to arrive and thousands of tonnes of aid in the pipeline” from multiple countries.
Last week, CNN reported that the United States still faces many obstacles before it can begin operating JLOTS. The United States was closely monitoring whether Israel's “limited” incursion into Rafah, southern Gaza, would affect the temporary pier. Additionally, the United States had not yet finalized plans for who would transport humanitarian supplies from the causeway to distribution points in the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced it had a contract for a driver for the pier, but declined to identify the driver.
“All we can say is that it's a third-party contractor, but that's about it,” Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon spokeswoman, said at a news conference. Once the humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza, the United Nations World Food Program will distribute it to the Palestinian population.
Ryder said Tuesday that security is in place to allow JLOTS to begin operations once the pier is ready.
“We are confident that we will have the necessary security,” Ryder said.
The first three months of JLOTS operations will cost about $320 million, according to the Department of Defense.
Cooper also addressed security concerns at the briefing, saying the U.S. and Israel have developed plans to protect all personnel working on projects in the region, but did not provide more specific details. Ta.
Dan Diekhaus, USAID's response director, acknowledged that there were “certain risks,” but said JLOTS and the causeway “are not exposed to any additional risks beyond what already exists in Gaza.” added.
