The US military has released photos showing that a pier is currently under construction to bring more aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.
Images show what appear to be large metal structures dotted along a floating platform with workers in military uniforms.
U.S. Central Command posted an image on X that read “Construction of pier begins” and “Construction of floating JLOTS pier in Mediterranean Sea underway.” JLOTS stands for Joint Logistics Over the Shore.
Construction of the pier begins
Construction of the JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean Sea is underway.
pier supports @you went Humanitarian partners to receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. @USTRANSCOM and @USEUCOM Supports the movement of… pic.twitter.com/tC9J12wz4Z
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 29, 2024
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Construction of the pier begins
Construction of the JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean Sea is underway.
pier supports @you went Humanitarian partners to receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. @USTRANSCOM and @USEUCOM Supports the movement of… pic.twitter.com/tC9J12wz4Z
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 29, 2024
Earlier, a U.S. Navy ship participating in a U.S.-led effort to bring more aid to the Gaza Strip appeared off the coast of the Gaza Strip, floating for operations, according to satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press. He was involved in the construction of the platform.
USNS Roy P. Benavidez is located approximately eight miles from a companion project pier and base of operations being constructed by the Israeli military.
Satellite images taken by Planet Labs PBC on Sunday showed debris from a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea next to the ship. U.S. military and Israeli officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Benavidez’s position.
Under the US military’s plan, the aid would be loaded onto a Cypriot merchant ship and sailed to a floating platform being built off the coast of Gaza. The pallets are loaded onto a truck, which is then loaded onto a small boat and transported to a floating metal two-lane causeway. A 550-meter (1,800-foot) causeway leads to the coast.
The new port will be located just southwest of Gaza City and north of the road that bisects Gaza, built by Israeli forces during the ongoing battle with Hamas. The area was the most populous part of the territory until the start of the Israeli ground offensive, which drove more than a million people south toward the Egyptian border city of Rafah.
Israeli military positions, currently located on either side of the pier, were originally built using the rubble of buildings demolished by Israel as part of an initiative led by World Central Kitchen. The effort was halted on April 1 after an Israeli airstrike killed seven WCK aid workers traveling in clearly marked vehicles on an Israeli-sanctioned delivery mission.
WCK announced on Sunday that it would resume operations in Gaza. Erin Gore, the company’s CEO, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) apologized for the attack and promised changes to its operational rules, but there were few guarantees.
“While there are no concrete guarantees, we continue to seek answers and advocate for change with the goal of better protecting WCK and all NGO workers who selflessly serve in the worst humanitarian conditions.” I’m going,” she said. “Our demands for an impartial and international investigation remain unchanged.”
Gore said her organization is exploring routes, including maritime corridors, to enable further aid to Gaza. Using cargo ships to deliver aid has drawn criticism from relief groups, including the United Nations, who say it is less efficient at delivering critical supplies than by land.
About 250 aid trucks enter Gaza every day, about half of what aid groups need, according to UN data. In the midst of news coverage Imminent famine is occurring in parts of the territory.
As WCK resumes operations, a coalition of activists and aid organizations announced that plans to sail three ships from Turkey to Gaza carrying ambulances, anesthetics and other relief supplies have been postponed.
The Free Fleet Coalition, a group of hundreds of international activists led by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), announced that the flagship Guinea-Bissau had removed the national flag from two of its ships. “We cannot sail without a flag. But this is not the end,” they said in a statement.
Organizers say Guinea-Bissau’s Ship Registry, managed by Athens-based company GB International, has requested further inspection of one of its ships, the large cruise ship Akdeniz, which is moored at an Istanbul shipyard. It is said that there was a call to do so.
They said GB International informed them that the flag had been removed from the Akdeniz and the cargo ship before the inspection was completed.
IHH sent several aid cargo vessels to Al Arish, Egypt, and then entered Gaza through the Rafah border with the consent of Israeli authorities. But in this case, activists on board the convoy said they would not cooperate in any way with Israel to deliver aid on board once it arrived in Gaza.
Organizers said GB International requested “a formal letter clearly authorizing the transport of humanitarian supplies and a complete inventory of the cargo.”
Eirini Sampani, legal officer at GB International, said the registration comes with a commitment “not to unilaterally participate in combat zones, such as the Gaza Strip, contrary to internationally observed practices and United Nations resolutions.”
Sampani and GB International said they are “closely monitoring the situation and working with relevant authorities to ensure that potential commercial activities comply with applicable laws and regulations.”
They declined to answer further questions about what caused the company to suddenly withdraw its flag or what information was provided by IHH regarding the ship’s purpose or destination at the time of registration.
The activists’ efforts to reach Gaza from Turkey were a repeat of a 2010 attempt by Israeli special forces to board a boat in international waters. Nine people died in one of the boats.
Activists and IHH stated: Reports of impending famine Even though the 2010 incident caused a dramatic rift in years-old Turkish-Israeli relations, the mounting loss of life in Gaza has led them to decide to re-engage their fleets. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was pressured by then-US President Barack Obama to apologize to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the incident.
Aid groups say sea and air deliveries alone are not enough to prevent starvation.Relief organization Oxfam Said Israel should “lift the total blockade of Gaza” and end the arbitrary blockade that prevents aid from entering the country.
White House National Security Press Secretary John Kirby told ABC News that the floating pier built by the U.S. military will be ready for use within two to three weeks.
He said the aim was to increase aid to Gaza, but sea routes remained a limited means of delivering relief supplies. “There is no substitute for ground routes and incoming trucks,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
