US military completes installation of offshore pier to deliver aid to Gaza

The US military on Thursday finished installing parts of a temporary pier that will be used to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza from the Mediterranean Sea, according to US Central Command.

CENTCOM issued a statement saying its personnel had “anchored a temporary pier on the Gaza beach. As part of this effort, no U.S. troops have entered Gaza. Trucks carrying humanitarian aid are expected to begin arriving in the coming days. receive aid and coordinate its distribution in Gaza.”

On Wednesday, a defense official told CBS News that “earlier today, components of the temporary pier that make up our joint logistics capability ashore, as well as the military vessels involved in its construction, began moving from the port of Ashdod to Gaza, where it will be anchored at the beach to help deliver international humanitarian aid. » The port of Ashdod in Israel is approximately 16 km north of Gaza.

Construction of both pieces, the floating platform and the causeway, was completed last week, but weather conditions delayed the final move.

Gaza's need for food and supplies has only increased in recent weeks as Israel appears poised to launch an offensive against the southern city of Rafah. USAID response director Daniel Dieckhaus said 450,000 Gazans have fled Rafah since May 6.

“Humanitarian actors are facing considerable difficulties in delivering aid to Rafah given the closure of critical border crossings as well as in accessing warehouses and distributing aid due to the deteriorating situation,” Dieckhaus told reporters. journalists on Wednesday.

Image released by the U.S. Army shows soldiers from the 7th Transportation Brigade and sailors from the MV Roy P. Benavidez setting up a floating dock off the coast of Gaza April 26, 2024. U.S. Army via AP

The Biden administration has said the corridor would increase the volume of incoming aid, but the pier is not intended to replace road entry points, which are far more efficient at moving aid quickly.

Initially, the corridor is expected to deliver about 90 aid trucks per day, then up to 150 per day once it reaches full capacity, defense officials said at a news briefing. at the end of last month. The United Nations has said that to meet the needs of Palestinians stuck in Gaza, around 500 aid trucks per day must enter the territory.

The flow of aid through the corridor is expected to begin in Cyprus, where it will be inspected and loaded onto ships to travel around 200 miles to the floating platform in the eastern Mediterranean. Once it arrives, the aid will be transferred by US military ships to the causeway attached to the Gaza coast. From there, trucks driven by a third party – not US troops – will deliver the aid to Gaza.

The Israeli military, according to the Pentagon, provides security at the beachhead, and the UN coordinates the delivery of supplies to the population of Gaza.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters that hundreds of tons of aid would be ready for delivery once the corridor was operational, and that thousands more tons were in the pipeline.

The Pentagon estimates the cost of the corridor at around $320 million.

President Biden announced the maritime corridor during his State of the Union address in March. After pledging to provide a pier, he said: “To Israeli leaders, I say this: humanitarian aid cannot be an afterthought or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority.

Mr Biden said no US troops would set foot in Gaza. There are approximately 1,000 U.S. military personnel dedicated to operating the maritime corridor just off the coast.

— Brian Dakss contributed reporting.

Israel and Hamas at war More More Eleanor Watson

Eleanor Watson is a CBS News reporter covering the Pentagon.

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