A crowd of hungry people at a street kitchen in northern Gaza
About half a million people face famine in the region after the World Food Program cut off supplies to northern Gaza.
US military personnel are scrambling to build a temporary floating dock in Gaza to help deliver food and other aid to Palestinians by sea, a new route for supplies after months of Israel's strict restrictions on aid delivered by land.
President Joe Biden announced aid to Gaza during his State of the Union address Thursday night as military personnel were already pulling together plans and equipment. On Friday, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters it would take 1,000 soldiers more than weeks to build the structure.
Biden said there would be no U.S. forces in Gaza for the mission, which could involve other allies, contractors and aid agencies.
Israeli forces have blocked routes and slowed the delivery of research aid in the five months since the start of the war, after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages in Israel on Oct. 7.
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Israel's attacks on Gaza have killed some 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The United States has already begun aid to Gaza, where the United Nations says nearly 2.3 million people are struggling to find food, while more than half a million face starvation. On Friday, Ryder America said it has served 124,000 meals to date.
Called Joint Logistics Over the Shore, the temporary dock resembles Legos, with 40-foot-long steel pieces locked together to form a pier and causeway.
Developments:
- Five children in Gaza were killed Friday by an unknown humanitarian aid drop, the Gaza health ministry said. On Friday evening, US Central Command said in a statement that it was not a US air base.
- US Central Command said On Saturday US C-130 aircraft dropped the equivalent of 41,400 meals and 23,000 bottles of water in northern Gaza.
- At least 20 people have died from complications related to malnutrition in northern Gaza. The deaths come after warnings about the risk of famine during the bombing and siege of Gaza.
- Sweden has joined European union And Canada The UN is responsible for helping the Palestinians. In recovering funds to the company. UN on October 7 Hamas attacks The announcement comes after aid was halted weeks ago after Israel accused tens of thousands of workers for the agency. Several countries, including the United States, have frozen millions in funding after the allegations.
US and allies shot down at least 28 Houthi drones during strikes in the Red Sea
U.S. and coalition forces shot down at least 28 drones in an attack by the Houthis in the Red Sea on Saturday morning, according to the U.S. Central Command.
In one strike, U.S. and coalition forces shot down at least 28 Houthi drones in the Red Sea between 4 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. local time, CENTCOM said. Report said. The drones did not damage US or coalition ships in the attack, and no merchant ships were damaged.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Sariya said in a statement that the rebel group had sent 37 drones to target US destroyers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen, have targeted ships in the Red Sea in what the militants call a protest against Israel's war in Gaza. The first death in the Houthi attacks came Wednesday when an anti-ship ballistic missile hit a Liberian-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three crew members and wounding four others. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack.
Cyprus becomes a hub for aid distribution
The European Union announced on Friday the opening of a shipping route in the Mediterranean Sea to carry humanitarian aid from the island nation of Cyprus to Gaza.
Cyprus, about 250 miles from the Gaza Strip, is poised to become a key hub for food deliveries and other humanitarian aid to the war-torn Palestinian territory as Israel limits other aid deliveries by truck. The shipping line has been established in collaboration with the European Commission, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and others. Joint Statement said Friday from countries.
On Saturday, the European Commission plans to set off on a pilot trip through the corridor from Cyprus to Gaza with a humanitarian aid ship. A ship from Spanish aid group Open Arms will deliver aid to northern Gaza from the World Central Kitchen, a non-profit led by celebrity chef José Andrés.
Aid is expected to arrive in two or three days at an undisclosed location in northern Gaza, where cases of starvation and starvation are most severe.
Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lior Hayat said, said on social media Israel welcomed the maritime aid, but warned it would require security checks.
A World Central Kitchen press release has delivered more than 32 million meals to date via trucks and airdrops. The shipping corridor allows the charity to increase the amount of aid it provides, the press release said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
