The Fact News Service
New Delhi, May 17
Vehicles with humanitarian aid have started coming to Gaza this after after arriving through the floating pier built by the US military, as per the US Central Command (CENTCOM). On Thursday, the pier was found stationed at a beach in Gaza and will be used to provide aid from various countries into the besieged strip, with all other border crossings closed.
The US, that began building the pier which costs $320 in April, has stated that it is not a permanent measure and that it is “entirely humanitarian in nature and will involve aid commodities donated by a number of countries and humanitarian organizations.”
No US soldiers went ashore in Gaza, according to the CENTCOM statement.
The aid first comes to Cyprus, before being brought by ship to a floating platform near the Gaza coast. Later it is transported to the floating pier and loaded onto the trucks to distribute on land in Gaza.
The aim is to get about 500 tonnes of humanitarian assistance into Gaza through the pier daily, said Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command. He said this on Thursday in a news briefing. That means about 90 trucks a day, and the objective is to build up to 150 trucks a day.
The new maritime corridor is coming at a critical moment – with the Rafah border closing into Gaza having been closed for more than a week. This has prevented aid from getting through.
The crossing at Rafah was the only one between Gaza and Egypt – with all other border points in the strip controlled by Israel.
The US State Department warned that only 50 humanitarian aid trucks made it through to Gaza on Sunday, down from hundreds per day in previous weeks, adding that the number is “not nearly enough.”
There are ten of thousands struggling to make ends meet at Gaza since October last year when the fresh war broke out between Israel and Palestine.
