WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Thursday completed installing a floating pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip that officials say is desperately needed in an enclave besieged by seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. Preparations are underway to begin transporting humanitarian aid supplies.
Final construction will set up a complex handover process more than two months from the United States. President Joe Biden ordered To help starving Palestinians amid Israeli border crossing restrictions and heavy fighting the food and other supplies needed to make it To Gaza.
full Logistics, weather and safety challengesthe pier project — expected to be costly. $320 million The plan is aimed at increasing the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip, but is not seen as an alternative to much cheaper land transport, which aid agencies say is much more sustainable.
The aid supplies loaded onto the boats were deposited at a port facility constructed by the Israelis just southwest of Gaza City, and then distributed by aid organizations.
U.S. officials said Thursday that up to 500 tons of food would begin arriving on the Gaza coast within days, and that the United States was coordinating closely with Israel on how to protect ships and personnel working on the coast.
But Sonali Kolde, assistant director of the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Humanitarian Assistance, which is assisting with the logistics, explained how aid organizations can safely distribute food to those who need it most in Gaza. said he still had doubts.
Mr Korde said aid organizations were still struggling to obtain permission for planned movements in Gaza, with “a very unstable operating environment”. Talks with the Israeli military “need to reach a situation where humanitarian aid workers can operate in safety and security. And I don't think we're there yet.”
Fighting broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern city. Rapha Similarly, Israel has resumed fighting in parts of northern Gaza, displacing about 700,000 people, U.N. officials said. Israel recently captured the important Rafah border crossing in an attack on Hamas.
Pentagon officials say the fighting does not threaten new coastline aid distribution areas, but the security situation is being closely monitored and could prompt the closure of maritime routes, even temporarily. It is revealed that there is a sex.
The site has already been targeted by mortar fire during construction, and Hamas has threatened to attack foreign forces that “occupy” the Gaza Strip.
“Protecting participating U.S. forces is a top priority. Therefore, in the past few weeks, the United States and Israel developed an integrated security plan to protect all personnel,” said U.S. Army Central Command Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said. “We are confident that this security arrangement will protect those involved.”
Central Command announced Thursday morning that U.S. forces were anchored at the pier, stressing that U.S. forces have not entered the Gaza Strip and will not enter during the pier operation. The report said trucks loaded with aid were expected to land in the coming days, and “the United Nations will receive the aid and coordinate its distribution to Gaza.”
The World Food Program will be the U.N. agency handling the aid, officials said.
The Israeli military is responsible for guarding the coast, but there are also two U.S. Navy warships in the area, the USS Arleigh Burke and the USS Paul Ignatius. Both are destroyers with a wide range of weapons and capabilities to protect U.S. forces offshore and allies on the coast.
Cooper said the British logistics ship RFA Cardigan Bay would also provide assistance.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani confirmed that a pier had been installed and that Israeli military engineering units had leveled the ground around the area and paved a road for trucks.
“We have been fully cooperating with (the U.S. military) on this project for many months, facilitating it and providing all possible support,” Shoshani said. “It is a top priority in our operations.”
The United Nations, the United States and international aid groups say Israel has only allowed some of the normal pre-war flow of food and other supplies into Gaza since Hamas' attacks on Israel began in October. . Aid agencies say food is running low and fuel is running low in southern Gaza, while USAID and the World Food Program say hunger is rampant in northern Gaza.
Israel says it has no restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and blames the United Nations for delays in distributing supplies to Gaza. The United Nations says fighting, fires in Israel and the chaotic security situation are hampering deliveries. Under pressure from the United States, Israel has opened two crossings in recent weeks to deliver aid to hard-hit northern Gaza, following a series of Hamas attacks on the key crossing, Kerem Shalom. He said the flow of supplies was disrupted.
The first cargo ship carrying food left Cyprus last week and the cargo was transferred to the USS Roy P. Benavidez off the coast of Gaza.
The installation of a floating pier several miles (kilometers) from the coast and a bank that is currently anchored to the coast has been delayed for nearly two weeks because of dangerous weather conditions.
Military leaders said aid would begin gradually to ensure the system's functionality. Initially, around 90 truckloads of aid will be delivered per day via sea routes, with the number expected to soon increase to around 150 per day. But aid agencies say this alone is not enough to avert famine in Gaza and is only part of a broader Israeli effort to open a land corridor.
Scott Paul, Oxfam's deputy director, said the U.S.-built jetty-to-sea route is “a solution to a problem that doesn't exist,” as a land crossing could bring all the necessary aid if Israeli authorities allow it. ” he said. Humanitarian organization.
Under the new route, humanitarian supplies will be offloaded to Cyprus and will undergo inspection and security checks at the port of Larnaca. They will then be loaded onto ships and transported about 200 miles (320 kilometers) to a large floating pier built by the U.S. military off the coast of Gaza.
There, the pallets are transferred to a truck and then loaded onto a small army boat and transported several miles (kilometers) to a causeway anchored on the shore. The track being Driven by an employee from another countrydescend the causeway into a safe area on land, drop off the aid there, and quickly turn around and return to the boat.
Aid groups collect supplies for distribution on land.
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Associated Press writers John Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Julia Frankel in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Tara Kopp in Washington contributed to this report.
