US to begin construction of Gaza pier as Rafah invasion looms
WASHINGTON—U.S. troops plan to start assembling a floating pier off the coast of northern Gaza as early as this weekend, American defense officials said, part of an effort by the Biden administration to get more aid into the besieged enclave ahead of Israel’s planned invasion of the city of Rafah. But US officials warned that they didn’t expect the pier to supplant deliveries across Gaza’s land borders, which the United Nations has said is the most efficient way to get humanitarian aid into the strip.
U.S. officials have pressed the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to protect civilians in Gaza—both during its planned offensive in Rafah, the one city in the enclave that hasn’t been part of Israel’s ground invasion, and by helping alleviate a devastating hunger crisis. More than 1 million Palestinians, about half of the Gaza Strip’s population, are currently sheltering in Rafah.
A ground invasion of the city, which Israel says is the final holdout of Hamas militants in Gaza, risks further disrupting the delivery of desperately needed food, drinking water and other essentials. The vast majority of humanitarian aid currently enters through two border crossings in southern Gaza. Some U.S.
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