US military says first aid shipment has been driven across a newly built US pier into the Gaza Strip

A Palestinian youth walks on a jetty in Gaza City with a view of navy vessels off the coast as part of a “maritime corridor” announced by US Central Command (CENTCOM) on May 17, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built U.S. pier and into the besieged enclave for the first time on Friday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hindered the delivery of food and other supplies.

The shipment is the first in an operation that American military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day, all while Israel presses in on the southern city of Rafah in its 7-month offensive against Hamas.

But the U.S. and aid groups warn that the floating pier project is not a substitute for land deliveries that could bring in all the food, water and fuel needed in Gaza. Before the war, more than 500 truckloads entered the territory on an average day.

The operation’s success also remains tenuous because of the risk of militant attack, logistical hurdles and a growing shortage of fuel for the trucks to run due to the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Aid agencies say they are running out of food and fuel in southern Gaza, while the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Food Program say famine has already taken hold in Gaza’s north.