Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters that there are “hundreds of tons” of humanitarian aid ready to roll out in the coming days and thousands of tons in the pipeline.
The pier will facilitate at least 90 trucks worth of food aid a day and up to 150 trucks worth per day.
“This process works and is working now,” he told reporters, while cautioning that the U.S. military is playing a limited role. “The U.S. military is simply providing logistics support to enable international donors to flow their aid into Gaza from the sea.”
The pier was attached to a beach in Gaza in the early morning hours of Thursday. Although the U.S. military’s pier system was completed earlier this month, bad weather delayed the final installation.
President Biden first announced the pier back in March during his State of the Union address.
The humanitarian situation has since deteriorated further in Gaza, with the United Nations warning of a full-blown famine in the north.
The crisis could grow worse if Israel conducts a large invasion of Rafah, a southern Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering. Israeli forces are conducting limited operations in Rafah.
Sonali Korde, assistant to the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, said the aid flowing from the pier will include nutrient-rich food bars and hygiene kits.
“Uniting all of us and underpinning this entire mission is a commitment to save lives,” she told reporters. “There’s no time to lose and no effort can be spared.”
Humanitarian aid will flow from the island nation of Cyprus to a floating dock a few miles off the coast of Gaza. Ships will then transport the aid to the pier, where the United Nations and humanitarian aid workers will deliver it into Gaza.
The pier effort will involve roughly 1,000 U.S. troops but no American boots will be on the ground in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces have worked closely with the U.S. on this mission to ensure safety.
Still, Republican lawmakers have expressed frequent concern about security around the pier, especially after the area around the pier on the shore was attacked last month.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said security is a top concern but stressed there are no signs of any hostilities at the pier.
“We don’t have any indications that there should be any attacks on this pier,” she told reporters, but if “Hamas decides to attack this area they are directly harming people in Gaza that are starving, that need this aid at a critical time.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
