The Pentagon has announced that the US has begun construction of a “floating dock” off the coast of Gaza

Washington

The United States has begun construction of a “floating dock” off the coast of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged area, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said on Thursday, April 26.

“I can confirm that US military vessels, including the USNS Benavidez, have begun construction of the initial phase of temporary dock and offshore passage,” Ryder told reporters.

Ryder indicated that the Pentagon would provide more information soon.

The organization announced in March that it would launch an emergency mission to set up a floating dock off the coast of Gaza to distribute 2 million humanitarian aid meals per day.

The mission aims to begin deliveries in about 60 days from March 8. According to the Pentagon, it includes a floating dock with an approximately 500-meter-long causeway that will connect to the shoreline and a fleet of logistics support ships and barges that will deliver aid from the dock to the causeway.

Ryder said that a small number of mortars fell around the humanitarian aid marshalling yard area and that this happened before American forces could move anything forward.

“This incident does not in any way delay our efforts to establish a maritime corridor,” he assured.

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common pit There should be a ‘thorough’ investigation into Gaza.

Regarding mass graves found in Gaza, Ryder said the reports were “very disturbing”.

“To my knowledge, the Secretary of Defense (US Defense Lloyd Austin) has not talked to his (Israeli, Yoav Galant) counterpart about this. But I do know that, as Mr. (National Security Adviser Jake) Sullivan said yesterday “The American government has raised this at several levels with the Israelis,” he said.

Without providing further details about the Defense Department’s approach, Ryder said the reports should be investigated “thoroughly.”

More than 300 bodies have been found in mass graves since Saturday. The bodies were discovered after Israeli forces withdrew from Khan Yunis on 7 April following a four-month ground offensive in the city.

Regarding a possible Israeli ground attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Ryder said: “We are very clear that although we both agree that the defeat of Hamas is important, that any operation after Hamas in Rafah must take civilian protection into account. Maintains and distributes humanitarian aid.

He said the Israelis shared some of their ideas about what the operation in Rafah could look like.

“But those talks are still ongoing because we are still concerned about how they will do it and take into account the large numbers of displaced people and their safety,” the spokesperson said.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, which Tel Aviv said killed at least 1,200 people.

Since then, more than 34,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and about 77,300 injured, amid widespread destruction and severe shortages of essential goods.

More than six months after the start of the Israeli offensive, vast swathes of Gaza are in ruins, according to the United Nations, with 85% of the enclave’s population displaced due to a blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide in the International Court of Justice, whose interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take steps to ensure humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

*Aicha Sandoval Alaguana contributed to this note.

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