The United States has initiated the construction of a temporary pier at sea to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as announced by the Pentagon. The primary objective is to transport up to 150 trucks of aid daily to assist the distressed population in the region.
According to Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, US military vessels, including the USNS Benavidez, have commenced the initial phases of building the temporary pier and causeway at sea. The construction progress indicates that the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza from the sea is set to commence in early May, starting with the equivalent of 90 trucks per day and scaling up to 150 trucks per day once full operational capacity is achieved.
A senior military official confirmed that the US military is prepared to carry out the mission for several months, with no US troops stationed on the ground in Gaza, in line with President Joe Biden's previous statement. Instead, the Israel Defense Forces will collaborate with the US military to secure the causeway to the shore in Gaza from the outset.
An agreement has been reached for a US Army engineering unit to train an IDF engineering unit on anchoring the causeway to the shore. The IDF will also establish a security perimeter on the ground in Gaza to facilitate the offloading of aid over a significant area.
Despite potential security risks, such as rockets or missiles from Gaza-based terror groups, the US troops operating the Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) system will maintain a safe distance of several hundred meters from the Gaza beach. The US Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean will play a complementary role in supporting the overall mission.
The recent mortar attack near the aid offloading site on Gaza's coastline was deemed unrelated to the US' pier mission. The military official assured that all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure maximum force protection during the aid delivery operations.
