1 of 3 | Humanitarian aid has started moving into Gaza via a temporary pier, two days after the U.S. military began construction on the floating causeway. Photo courtesy of U.S. Central Command
Humanitarian aid has started moving into Gaza via a temporary pier, two days after the U.S. military began construction on the floating causeway.
Trucks began rolling over the pier into the Palestinian enclave Friday, U.S. Central Command confirmed on X. Advertisement
The aid shipments will continue to flow from multiple countries, with the Kerem Shalom overland entry point closed by Israel because of recent Hamas rocket attacks.
Today we began delivery of aid from the temporary pier on to the beach of Gaza for further distribution to the people by our partners. This unique logistics capability facilitates the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid enabling a shared service for the international… pic.twitter.com/nP0Ws7obzT— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 17, 2024
The only other land border is with Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah. Earlier in the month, the Israel Defense Forces captured the Gaza side of that crossing. At the time, the UNRWA, the United Nations’ relief mission for Palestinian refugees, warned of continued interruption of aid and fuel supplies through the crossing. Advertisement
The U.S. military announced earlier in the week it would build the floating causeway and adjacent pier, which are anchored to a beach, in an effort to get more humanitarian aid into the besieged territory.
“Today we began delivery of aid from the temporary pier on to the beach of Gaza for further distribution to the people by our partners,” CENTCOM said on X, accompanied by pictures of the first trucks crossing the floating bridge.
“This unique logistics capability facilitates the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid enabling a shared service for the international community to use to serve the people of Gaza.”
No U.S. military troops went ashore in Gaza, CENTCOM said in a statement Friday.
“This is an ongoing, multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza via a maritime corridor that is entirely humanitarian in nature.”
Britain and the United Arab Emirates were among the countries that saw their aid shipments move into Gaza Friday.
“U.K. aid has been successfully delivered to the Gaza shore today, in the first delivery across the U.S.-built temporary pier. The first of 8,400 shelter coverage kits — temporary shelters made up of plastic sheeting — have arrived in Gaza, alongside aid from the U.S. and UAE,” the British government said in a statement. Advertisement
