A shipment of humanitarian aid departed a Cyprus port on Thursday morning and was on its way to the US-built pier in Gaza, marking the first delivery to the newly constructed ramp, according to Cyprus’ foreign minister.
The aid is desperately required, with the United Nations stating that people in Gaza are on the verge of hunger and Israeli military ordering the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians from Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.
Earlier this week, Israel dispatched tanks to take Gaza’s neighboring Rafah crossing with Egypt, closing a critical border access point required to get aid into the beleaguered colony.
It is unclear whether Israel will launch an all-out invasion on Rafah as international attempts for a cease-fire continue.
Israel has stated that an assault on Rafah is critical to its goal of defeating Hamas, following the militant group’s Oct. 7 offensive on southern Israel, which left 1,200 dead and 250 hostages abducted to Gaza.
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah, over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there.
The vessel’s voyage comes about two months after Biden gave the order for the building of the large floating platform several miles off the Gaza coast to be a launching pad for deliveries since not enough aid was getting in through land crossings, which require stringent checks by Israel, and by air drops.
The U.S. military finished the construction of the temporary pier and causeway, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said Tuesday, but plans to move it into place on the shore were on hold due to weather and other logistics.
Meanwhile, attacks continued across Gaza with Israeli airstrike on a residential building killing eight people, including four children, late Wednesday, according to hospital records.
The strike hit a residential building in the area of Tel al-Sultan in western Rafah.
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