In a recent development, Gazan militants have reportedly launched a mortar attack on a proposed site for a floating pier off the Gaza coast.
This pier, intended for the delivery of humanitarian aid, is a project initiated by the United States, as reported by Israeli news outlet i24NEWS.
The mortar assault, which occurred on Wednesday, resulted in damage to American engineering equipment and one casualty, as per the i24NEWS report on Thursday. The construction of the humanitarian pier, under the security provision of the Israel Defense Forces, could commence as early as this weekend.
The announcement of the pier's construction was first made by President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address on March 7. The floating pier, an 1,800-foot-long causeway attached to the northern Gaza coast, will be assembled by U.S. military personnel, according to Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
Ryder, in his statement following Biden's address, quoted the President saying, "not enough aid is getting in [to Gaza]." He further noted that the pier is anticipated to facilitate the delivery of "up to 2,000,000 meals in a day."
Ryder also clarified that U.S. forces will not be required to go on the ground. "Our role will be essentially to provide the service of getting [the aid] to the causeway, at which point it will then be distributed," he added.
However, this initiative has raised concerns among Republican lawmakers, who fear that the humanitarian pier could pose a threat to U.S. troops deployed for its management. Over a dozen members of the Senate Armed Services Committee warned Biden last month that the plan "appears to ignore force protection issues entirely, against an enemy that tries to kill Americans every day."
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