US dispatches ship to Mediterranean to build temporary port off Gaza

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Sunday that it had dispatched a ship carrying the necessary materials to build a temporary port off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

"On March 9, 2024, U.S. Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S. Besson (LSV-1) from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis en route to the Eastern Mediterranean," CENTCOM said in a statement.

It added that the vessel had sailed "less than 36 hours after President (Joe) Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea."

"Besson, a logistics support vessel, is carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies," it added.

US Department of Defense spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced on Saturday that the construction of the temporary pier that the US plans to establish may take 60 days.

Ryder explained that the establishment of the temporary pier in Gaza will take place with allies and partners in the region, noting that soldiers from seven transportation brigades in the state of Virginia have been allocated for this purpose.

In his State of the Union address on Friday, Biden announced that the US would construct a temporary pier on Gaza's shoreline to facilitate more aid deliveries.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.

Nearly 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.