Strong waves lead to the separation of parts of the American floating pier in Gaza

Washington - Ma'an - The US Army announced, on Saturday, that the naval humanitarian aid mission in Gaza was affected by the strong sea waves, which led to the separation of four ships from their moorings on the temporary floating dock. The US Central Command said in a statement that two of the four ships are now anchored on the beach near the pier, while the third and fourth ships have reached the Israeli shore near Ashkelon. The statement added that efforts are currently underway to recover the ships with the help of the Israeli Navy, indicating that no American personnel have entered Gaza. No injuries were reported and the pier is still fully operational, according to a US Army statement. In turn, Israeli media reported pictures and news about part of the American floating dock separating and drifting towards Ashdod Beach, according to Al Hurra's correspondent. Israeli media added that Israeli naval forces headed to the place to assist the American forces and try to reconnect the separated part. The United States completed the temporary floating port off the shores of the Gaza Strip earlier this month, in a step to increase the delivery of aid to the besieged Strip, which is threatened by famine in light of the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas movement. The project consists of a temporary floating seaport that allows large ships, whether military or civilian, to dock there to unload their cargo and transfer it to smaller ships that can deliver this aid to a sea dock connected to the coast. The majority of this aid will be food collected from several countries and transported to the port of Larnaca in Cyprus. There is no international seaport in Gaza, and Israel has prevented the construction of one for decades. Because the nearshore waters are too shallow for large ships to approach the humanitarian pier directly, the United States is also building a floating platform two miles from the coast, where ships carrying aid will unload their cargo first. The Gaza Strip is suffering from a very ser ious humanitarian crisis resulting from the war that has been going on for more than six months between Israel and Hamas, and its residents need aid to continue. Source: Maan News Agency