According to a US official and a European official, who were granted anonymity to discuss the dates before their announcement, the US military-built pier off the coast of Gaza will be operational this weekend, unless weather or logistical problems prevent it, and aid is expected to start flowing into the enclave soon afterwards, on Wednesday, the 1st of May, reports Politico.
Officials are expected to take a decision on Friday to launch the project, which could allow
aid to reach Palestinians as early as early next week.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Wednesday that the pier was more than 50% complete, but gave no specific date for operations, saying it would be ready to deliver aid to Gaza in early May.
But the new aid route would more directly involve the US in the Israeli-Hamas conflict, with US forces helping to deliver aid to the Gaza coast, despite the fact that UN aid services will unload, organise and distribute the shipments without US soldiers having to set foot on shore.
Although the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are providing security for the project, it is risky as US personnel may face attacks by militant groups or be damaged accidentally by Israeli air strikes.
Only last week, Gaza-based militants fired mortar shells at a coastal marshalling area where UN staff plan to organise and distribute aid.
However, on Tuesday, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated that the US forces would not place foot in Gaza.
Initially, the Department of Defence has planned to deliver about 90 trucks daily, with up to 150 trucks per day at full operational capacity. The aid deliveries from the sea will supplement the current average of 220 trucks per day, thereby increasing the life-saving assistance required, the official said.
Approximately 1 000 US soldiers and sailors are involved in the construction of the temporary pier.
Humanitarian aid will first arrive by air or sea in Cyprus, where it will be inspected and organised, then pallets of aid will be loaded onto commercial ships bound for a floating pier that is several hundred metres long and anchored in the sands off the coast of Gaza.
From there, the aid will be loaded onto trucks onto smaller US army ships, which will transport the aid from the pier to the shore. Trucks from the smaller ships will then go ashore to deliver the aid.
The IDF will provide security for the operation with the help of a brigade of 1 000 soldiers, as well as Israeli Navy ships and Israeli Air Force assets, the official said.
Also read: US to build temporary pier for aid deliveries in Gaza
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