US completes Gaza Strip pier project; aid to civilians soon

New Delhi, May 16

The US today said it had anchored a temporary pier at Gaza, allowing merchant ships to dock mid-sea for providing relief and supplies via the sea route. This sea route for supplies to Gaza will be offer an alternate to the existing land-routes via Israel or Egypt.

US Central Command headquartered at Bahrain said, “In support of delivering additional humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, a temporary pier was anchored to the beach in Gaza.” As part of this effort, no US troops entered Gaza. Trucks carrying humanitarian assistance are expected to begin moving ashore in the coming days. The United Nations will receive the aid and coordinate its distribution into Gaza, the US Central Command said.

Called the ‘Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore’ or JLOTS, this is expected to streamline the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The JLOTS has two portions — the floating pier at sea and the ‘causeway’. Trucks will use the causeway to reach the shores.

The US military completed the offshore construction of ‘the causeway,’ last week, however, the anchoring was put on hold due to a storm in the Mediterranean Sea.

Rafah op to continue: israel

Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that additional troops would join a ground operation in an area of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and that the campaign was wearing down Hamas and it would continue.

Halt offensive: SA to World Court

South Africa asked the top UN court on Thursday to order a halt to the Rafah offensive as part of its case in The Hague accusing Israel of genocide, saying the country “must be stopped” to ensure the survival of Palestinians. —Agencies