US Builds Floating Port Offshore Gaza for Humanitarian Aid Deliveries amid Food Crisis

The United States has begun building a temporary port offshore of Gaza in order to provide humanitarian aid to the impoverished territory. The pier, constructed by US military vessels at sea with support from Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF), will have an initial capacity of 90 trucks per day and is expected to deliver up to 150 such vehicles loaded with vital supplies on a daily basis as its full operational capability comes online in early May. The aid, which includes foodstuffs and medical equipment, has become increasingly necessary due to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza caused by acute food shortages affecting more than half of northern Gazans and increasing numbers of people facing catastrophic levels of hunger without intervention. USAID will work with UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) on distributing aid once it reaches land, aided by smaller Army boats that can transport around 15 trucks each from commercial vessels travelling some 200 miles off Gaza’s coastline to avoid interference or restrictions imposed during land crossings. The US military is preparing for several months of involvement in the operation and will have no boots on the ground, with IDF engineers trained by a US Army engineering unit anchoring the causeway to shore “on day one”. However, there are concerns that aid deliveries could be disrupted or attacked from Gaza’s coastal territory where terrorist groups operate. Two command centres in Cyprus and Israel will oversee operations aimed at avoiding bottlenecks during inspections of cargo by Israeli authorities. The US military is working to turn the port into a sustainable facility available for regular usage through third party non-governmental organizations beyond their direct role over a several month timetable as international circumstances demand such interventions to aid humanitarian efforts in warzones or conflict zones where traditional supply chains are disrupted, destroyed or otherwise compromised.