Details about the construction and operation of the floating jetty in Gaza, which the US military is building, to transfer humanitarian aid from Cyprus, are reported by the New York Times.
According to the publication, 1000 US soldiers and sailors are working to build the pier, a senior military official told the Pentagon on Thursday.
The jetty will initially be able to handle 90 humanitarian aid trucks a day, and gradually, when fully operational, will be able to lift up to 150 trucks a day.
When the aid reaches the shores of Gaza, humanitarian organizations will distribute aid inside Gaza, however, facing known risks and obstacles amid Israeli bombardment, the newspaper said.
Charting the steps being taken to get international aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, the NYT reports that most of the aid will be food, which will be collected from various countries and transported to the port of Larnaca. Indicatively, it says these include nutrient-dense bars from Dubai, food to tackle severe child malnutrition from Kenya, and relief supplies, including hygiene kits, from Europe. He notes that other countries will also offer food and money.
Next, at the port of Larnaca, Israeli representatives will be present as the Cypriot authorities will inspect the contents of the aid, according to the NYT, citing an Israeli official with knowledge of the inspection program.
According to him, the inspection protocol will be the same as that observed at the ground crossing points in Gaza. Representatives of humanitarian organizations have said that these inspections are “exhaustive and sometimes arbitrary,” the NYT reports.
Then it is reported that the trip, a distance of about 250 miles (402 kilometers), from Cyprus to Gaza it usually takes around 15 hours, or a full day, however it is noted that it can take up to 2-3 days, depending on the weight of the cargo and the type of ships.
The NYT notes that Gaza does not have an international port, as Israel has for decades prohibited its construction. Because the waters near the shores are too shallow for large ships to approach the humanitarian jetty, the US is also building a floating platform two miles (3.2 km) offshore where aid ships will initially unload the their load.
Smaller military vessels, known as “landing craft utility-L.C.U.” and “logistics support vessels”- L.S.V.) will transport the aid in trucks from the platform to the wharf, where it will be picked up by humanitarian organizations for distribution.
At least 14 US ships are involved in the construction and operation of the pier. According to a military source cited by the NYT, some are carrying the necessary heavy equipment and machinery. US service members will build the pier at sea, using modular units eight feet (2.4 meters) wide and 20 or 40 feet (6 or 12 meters) long, and a large ship will carry them ashore. It will then be anchored by Israeli forces off the coast of northern Gaza to ensure there are no US forces on the ground.
Aid officials involved in receiving and distributing aid have pushed to keep their involvement with the Israeli military as limited as possible. The World Food Program will help distribute the aid inside Gaza after it arrives at the wharf.
Trucks coordinated by aid groups will transport the aid from a safe area near the pier at UN warehouses, noted to be over 20 across Gaza, and will eventually be distributed to hundreds of open kitchens, shelters, smaller warehouses and other distribution points across the region.
< p>The majority of distribution points are in southern Gaza, where most of the population has been forced to flee, but demographers estimate that several hundred thousand people remain trapped in the northern part, where famine is imminent.
A small number of routes are available for delivery trucks, as the Israeli army has restricted road access and Israeli shelling has reduced much of the landscape to rubble. Humanitarian aid trucks should coordinate their movements with the Israeli army.
