The US moves forward with its intention to build a dock in Gaza

The new push to bring aid to Gaza came almost as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins tomorrow in much of the world after officials in Saudi Arabia spotted the crescent moon. Hopes for a new Ramadan ceasefire were dashed days ago when peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine apparently stalled.

Against this background, a US army ship with material to build a temporary dock in Gaza is on its way to the Mediterranean, three days after the president of the United States, Joe Bidenannounced plans to increase sea aid to the besieged enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are starving.

The opening of the maritime corridor, accompanied by air deliveries from the United States, Jordan and other countries, showed growing alarm over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a new intention to circumvent Israel’s control over land deliveries. But aid officials say air and sea deliveries cannot make up for the shortage of land routes. The aid trucks entering Gaza daily are far fewer than the 500 that entered before the war.

“A ship belonging to the Spanish aid group Open Arms and carrying 200 tons of food aid is expected to make a pilot trip to Gaza from nearby Cyprus as soon as possible,” but not on Sunday.said the spokeswoman. Linda Roth of the partner organization World Central Kitchen.

Israel said it welcomed sea deliveries and would inspect goods bound for Gaza before they left a staging area in nearby Cyprus. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallanttoday reviewed the preparation work off the coast of Gaza.

Meanwhile, Biden redoubled his public criticism of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahucommenting that “It is hurting Israel more than helping it” in its war strategy against Hamas in Gaza, which has been going on for five months.

Speaking to MSNBC journalist Jonathan Capehart on Saturday, the president expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas following the Oct. 7 militant attack on southern Israel, but said Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives that are being lost as a result of the actions taken”.

He added that “There cannot be another 30,000 dead Palestinians”.

The consequences of war

He Ministry of Health Gaza says at least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children account for two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-led government, and its figures from previous wars have largely coincided with those of independent experts and the UN.

The number of Palestinian victims continues to rise. The Department of Civil Defense said at least 10 people, including children, were killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on an Ashour family home in the Tal al-Hawa area of ​​Gaza City.

Images shared by civil defense showed emergency personnel removing the dead and injured trapped in the collapsed house. A rescuer held a dead baby before leaving the limp body on a sofa in the middle of the ruins.

Elsewhere, the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah today received the bodies of 15 people, including women and children, according to a journalist from The Associated Press. Witnesses said the victims were killed by Israeli artillery fire at a large tent camp for displaced Palestinians on the coast west of the southern city of Khan Younis.

Israel does not usually comment on specific incidents of the war. He has blamed Hamas for civilian casualties because the armed group operates from residential areas.

Meanwhile, American efforts to open a temporary dock in Gaza for maritime deliveries were getting underway. A first Army ship, the Gen. Frank S. Besson, left his base in Virginia last Saturday en route to the eastern Mediterranean with equipment to build a dock, US Central Command said.

It will likely be weeks before the pier is operational, U.S. officials said.

The maritime corridor has support from the European Unionas well as the United States, United Arab Emirates and other countries. The European Commission has said that also agencies of United Nations and Red Cross will participate in the plan.

A ship from the Spanish humanitarian group Open Arms I was planning to take a pilot trip to test the corridor starting this weekend. The ship was waiting in the Cypriot port of Larnaca.

The ship in Cyprus is expected to take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location in Gaza. The charity’s spokesperson World Central Kitchen He said construction work began Sunday at the pier.

The founder of Open Arms, Oscar Campshas said that the ship is towing a barge with 200 tons of rice and flour.

A member of World Central Kitchen, who is also participating in the trial, said on the social network which has been largely isolated from humanitarian deliveries.

Israel declared war on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 hostages. The harsh Israeli air and ground campaign has destroyed large areas of Gaza, displaced around 80% of its 2.3 million inhabitants and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

The United States and regional mediators Egypt and Qatar had hoped to establish a six-week ceasefire by the time Ramadan began, but talks appeared stalled as Hamas sought assurances that the temporary truce would lead to an end to hostilities.

With a temporary truce, Hamas would have freed some of the Israeli hostages it is holding, Israel would free some Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian groups would receive access for a major aid campaign in Gaza.

The director of the CIA, William Burnstraveled to Doha, Cairo and Jordan on Saturday in an effort by mediators to make progress in the talks.

In a speech broadcast today, Hamas’s top leader, Ismail Haniyehblamed Israel for the failure to reach an agreement before Ramadan and said the group is willing to resume negotiations if they guarantee a permanent ceasefire.

With information from AP