US floating pier in Gaza will ‘hasten Hamas collapse,’ Israeli DM Gallant says
US ship sets sail toward Middle East with construction materials
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant praised the American initiative to construct a temporary port on the Gaza Strip coast to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid during an inspection of the area on Sunday.
“The process is designed to bring aid directly to the residents and thus continue the collapse of Hamas’s rule in Gaza,” the former Navy commando said onboard a patrol boat of the Israeli Navy off the Gaza coast.
“We will bring the aid through a maritime route that is coordinated with the US on the security and humanitarian side, with the assistance of the Emirates on the civil side, and appropriate inspection in Cyprus, and we will bring goods imported by international organizations with American assistance,” he added.
The U.S. military will construct a temporary floating pier off the coast of Gaza, allowing for the delivery of humanitarian aid from the Mediterranean Sea, U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday during his State of the Union address.
On Saturday, the U.S. Navy ship General Frank S. Besson, carrying materials for the port’s construction, set sail for the Middle East, the U.S. Central Command announced on Sunday.
The construction of the floating pier is estimated to take approximately two months, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal. The essential building materials and U.S. forces will be transferred to the region from around the world.
Once the floating pier is completed, ships will be able to unload the aid, which will then be transferred to U.S. military support ships. These will take the aid to the two-lane causeway some 550 meters (1,800 feet) in length, which will be attached to the shore.
President Biden has vowed that U.S. troops will not be on the ground and said that local forces would secure the pier together with support from the Israeli military.
According to the Pentagon, around 1,100 American troops will be involved in the operation and IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari confirmed the Israeli military IDF is coordinating the pier’s construction.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
