First aid trucks arrive in Gaza via US-built pier

(Patria) - The first trucks began delivering aid to the Gaza Strip via a temporary pier on Friday, the US military announced, AFP reported.

The US Central Command announced that "aid trucks began to be unloaded" via the long-awaited pier, a day after it was anchored on the beach in Gaza.

"This is a continuous, multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza via a maritime corridor that is entirely humanitarian in nature," it stated.

The US military released photos showing aid being lifted onto a barge at the nearby Israeli port of Ashdod, adding on X that no US soldiers had gone ashore.

In the coming days, the Central Command says, about 500 tons of aid are expected to be delivered via the pier to Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of impending starvation.

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 aid is being transported from Cyprus, the easternmost member of the European Union, located about 360 kilometers from Gaza.

The shipment includes supplies from the EU, including 88,000 cans of food from Romania, Brussels stated. The EU welcomed the shipment but called on Israel to "expand land deliveries and immediately open additional crossings".

"Obviously, there is no meaningful substitute for land routes via Egypt and Jordan and entry points from Israel into Gaza for large-scale aid delivery," said Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič.

The plan to build the pier was announced by President Joe Biden in March, as Israel suspended aid deliveries on the ground, worsening the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. But aid delivery is becoming increasingly complex as the needs of Gaza's residents grow.

The UN has repeatedly stated that land deliveries are the only way to supply aid in the required volume.