Aid starts entering Gaza through land after US ‘floating pier’ damaged by weather

Aid began flowing into the Gaza Strip from southern Israel on Sunday, after a U.S.-made “floating pier” on the Mediterranean Sea was damaged by weather.

The new aid deployment is flowing through southern Israel due to disagreements with Egypt. The IDF has taken over the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, which has typically been used for transporting aid throughout the conflict.

Egypt closed its side of the border when Israel took control of the Gazan side of the crossing, and says it will not reopen it until Palestinians are granted control.

Hundreds of aid trucks traveled through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing this weekend, but United Nations workers say they have had difficulty accessing the aid due to heavy fighting nearby.

The aid has become even more vital thanks to damage to the U.S.-built “floating pier” on Gaza’s coast. Choppy seas detached four vessels that had been stabilizing the pier this weekend.

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Two of the boats floated northward and landed on a beach in Ashdod, Israel, while the two others remain anchored at the beach near the pier, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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“Efforts to recover the vessels are under way with assistance from the Israeli Navy,” U.S. Central Command said.

The U.S. spent roughly $320 million constructing the pier, which has been a conduit for aid from the U.S. and other countries. While the pier has been used to transfer roughly 569 metric tons of aid into Gaza, none of that aid had been delivered to Palestinians as of last week, the Pentagon confirmed.

Aid began flowing into Gaza from southern Israel on Sunday after a U.S.-made “floating pier” on the Mediterranean Sea was damaged by weather.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, who serves as Pentagon press secretary, confirmed the aid delay in a statement to reporters on Tuesday.

Roughly 1,000 U.S. soldiers have been engaged in the effort to build the pier. Both the U.S. and Israel have emphasized that no U.S. troops have entered Gaza during the operation, but three U.S. troops were injured in accidents during operations on the pier over the past week.

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Palestinians gather in the hope of obtaining aid delivered into Gaza through a U.S.-built pier, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from central Gaza Strip. (REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo)

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The U.S. says the pier remains mostly operational despite the damage sustained this weekend. The Israeli navy is assisting in efforts to recover the two vessels that washed ashore in Ashdod, the Journal reported.