A U.S. ship carrying aid to Gaza has left Cyprus, the Pentagon said Thursday, but the temporary floating dock built by the U.S. military is not in place to unload food and supplies destined for the enclave. .
Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a press briefing Thursday afternoon that although construction of the floating jetty and causeway was completed, weather conditions made their placement off the coast of Gaza unsafe.
Gen. Ryder said aid aboard the ship, called Sagamore, would eventually be loaded onto another U.S. motor ship docked in Ashdod, the Roy P. Benavidez. Aid for the floating jetty system would be shipped as soon as it was installed, he said, and then delivered to Gaza.
Sagamore appeared to be anchored in the Israeli port of Ashdod on Thursday evening, according to VesselFinder, a ship tracking website. For now, the aid the Palestinians desperately need is about 30 kilometers from the nearest Gaza border crossing.
“While I am not providing a specific date, we anticipate that these temporary jetties will be in place in the very near future, pending appropriate safety and weather conditions,” General Ryder said.
Israel has stop the construction of Gaza’s own international seaport, prompting the United States and another humanitarian group, the Central World Cuisineto create their own systems for delivering aid to the enclave by sea.
But humanitarian groups and experts have frequently criticized maritime efforts as costly and complicated ways to deliver aid, citing trucking as a more efficient way to get food inside Gaza. After Israeli strikes kill seven World Central Kitchen workers, the group suspended its maritime operations there. The food charity has since declared that it will resume operations in Gaza with the help of Palestinian aid workers.
More food is needed in Gaza. The director of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, said recently that some regions are already experiencing famine.
