Gaza [Palestine], April 27: "I can confirm that US military ships, including the expeditionary transport ship USNS Benavidez, have begun the first stages of building temporary piers and causeways at sea," Reuters yesterday quoted a spokesman. Pentagon Major General Patrick Ryder.
While the pier was being built, there were concerns that American troops could face the risk of being caught in the crossfire, especially after a location on shore, which would connect to the pier from the sea, was hit. shelling on April 25. However, US President Joe Biden ordered US troops not to set foot on the Gaza coast. And spokesman Ryder added there are about 1,000 US troops supporting the bridge-building effort, including units in Cyprus and Israel. Israel also announced the dispatch of navy, air force, and ground forces to provide protection and logistical support for the US side.
President Biden announced the decision to build the wharf in March, in the context of Israel's more than 6-month military campaign pushing northern Gaza to the famine threshold. Initially, the wharf can handle up to 90 trucks/day, but that number can increase to 150 trucks by the time of completion. The UN said this week that the average number of trucks entering Gaza each day in April was about 200.
However, an anonymous Washington government official revealed that humanitarian aid shipments received via the wharf still have to go through Israeli land checkpoints. The fact that the goods continue to be inspected again on land could lead to delays before reaching the people of Gaza.
In southern Gaza, Israel continued to step up air strikes on Rafah on the night of April 25 and early morning of April 26, after announcing the evacuation of civilians from the southern city. "We are concerned about what will happen in Rafah. The alert level is very high," Reuters quoted Palestinian Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi to the UN.
Spokesman David Mencer of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration said the Israeli war cabinet had met in secret to propose a plan to destroy the last Hamas units in Rafah and other places.
Meanwhile, AFP quoted Mr. Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas political agency in Qatar, saying that "Israel's actions will undoubtedly threaten the negotiations because it is clear that they want to continue the conflict and there is no such thing." intention to negotiate to reach an agreement".
Yesterday, the Egyptian delegation arrived in Israel to launch a new round of negotiations on ceasefire efforts and the release of hostages, according to AFP.
In a related development, Ms. Hala Rharrit, Arabic spokesperson for the US State Department, after 18 years of work resigned to protest Washington's policy on Gaza. This is the third official of the US State Department to resign for the same reason, according to Reuters.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper