The United States resumes naval aid deliveries to Gaza after repairing the pier

CNN
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Today, Saturday, naval aid deliveries to Gaza resumed after the closure of a temporary dock established by the United States It was fixed a day agoUS Central Command announced.

US Central Command said in a statement that nearly 500 metric tons, or more than 1 million pounds, of aid had been delivered as of Saturday morning local time. Share on XIt is the first delivery since the pier disintegrated last month.

The handover came on the same day that the Israeli army rescued four hostages in an operation said by authorities in Gaza 236 people were killed More than 400 others were injured.

US Central Command clarified on Saturday that the dock “including its equipment, personnel and assets” was not used in the operation.

“The temporary dock on the Gaza coast was established for one purpose only: to help transport much-needed additional life-saving aid to Gaza,” US Central Command said in a statement. Separate post on X.

A US official told CNN on Saturday that the pier, called Joint Logistics Over the Shore, or JLOTS, was not used in the operation. “We understand that the IDF did not use a vehicle with humanitarian markings, or any humanitarian platform, including the JLOTS facility, to conduct hostage rescue operations,” the official said.

The pier, which is used in addition to dropping aid from planes and transporting it by truck through border checkpoints, was damaged and collapsed due to strong waves late last month. In less than two weeks of operation, the dock has helped deliver approximately 1,000 metric tons of aid to Gaza.

It faced the United States A number of challenges With the dock, including planning Israel’s operations in Rafah, determining who will transport aid from the dock to Gaza, and logistical issues such as sea and weather conditions.

Eight months into the war between Israel and Hamas, human rights groups described:indescribableLiving conditions in Gaza. United Nations food agency Warned in May That the Palestinians in the north are suffering from a “massive famine” that extends to the south, and that more than a million people, or half of Gaza’s population, are suffering from a “famine.”He is expected to face death and starvation“By mid-July, a UN report warned this week.

While Israeli officials insisted that there was no limit to the amount of aid that could enter Gaza, the United Nations accused the authorities of imposing “Illegal restrictionsregarding relief operations, including closed land routes, communications outages, and air strikes.

The United States has conducted a number of humanitarian airdrops into Gaza in partnership with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, although they have been suspended in recent weeks due to military operations in northern Gaza, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said Friday. He added that airdrop operations are expected to resume “in the coming days.”

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Philip Wang, Natasha Bertrand, Hailey Britsky, Rachel Wilson and Sana Noor Haq contributed to this report.