10:53 am ET, May 9, 2024
US will begin delivering aid for Gaza pier in eastern Mediterranean on Thursday
From CNN’s Natasha Bertrand
US Army Soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) and US Navy sailors attached to the MV Roy P. Benavidez assemble the Roll-On, Roll-Off Distribution Facility (RRDF), or floating pier, to assist in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, in the Mediterranean Sea on April 26.
US Army Central/Reuters
The US will begin delivering aid to Gaza through a military pier “in the coming days,” a Pentagon spokesperson told CNN on Thursday.
A barge used for carrying pallets of humanitarian aid from Cyprus to the pier will stage aid in the eastern Mediterranean on Thursday, according to Maj. Pete Nguyen. The US military pier and causeway, also known as JLOTS, has been fully constructed, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The barge is still in the Port of Ashdod in Israel, until the seas are calm enough to place it in the eastern Mediterranean. For now, the aid will be transported onto another ship currently off the coast of Gaza, called the M/V Roy P. Benavidez. The Benavidez, contracted by the US military, has been docked in the eastern Mediterranean since last month supporting the maritime corridor effort.
Aid entering Gaza: Earlier this year, the US, UK and European leaders joined efforts to open maritime routes for delivering relief into Gaza after Israeli restrictions on aid entering the strip drained critical supplies.
Israeli forces heavily restricted land crossings since October 7. Aid agencies have accused Israel of imposing arbitrary and contradictory criteria that obstruct the entry of relief into the war-ravaged territory. Human rights organizations have raised urgent calls for Israel to lift controls on land crossings into the Gaza Strip.
Israel insists there is “no limit” on the amount of aid that can flow into Gaza, but its stringent inspections process means relief is barely trickling in, condemning Palestinians there to deadly starvation.
CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim contributed reporting.
