Saudi ambassador to UK voted MENA diplomat of 2025    Saudi Awwal Bank signs SR2 billion credit facility with Saudi Binladin Group to propel development of King Fahd Sports City in Riyadh    Feast of Flavors and Prizes: LuLu Hypermarket kicks off the "World Food Festival" across Saudi Arabia    Pakistan closes airspace, suspends visaas in tit-for-tat measures against India    Saudia Group signs deal with Airbus for flyadeal's first wide-body aircraft    Saudi non-oil exports surge 14.3 percent to SR26.11bn in February    Saudi, Greek ministers co-chair inaugural meeting of Strategic Culture Committee    Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 26, Palestinian officials say    Trump's trade war olive branch met with derision and mistrust inside China    Ministry of Justice launches centralized court model to enhance judicial efficiency    Kyiv hit by deadly Russian missile and drone attack    Saudi Arabia elected chair of Asia region of World Meteorological Organization    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Super Max Verstappen scorches to pole with record lap in Jeddah    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



US military ship heading to Gaza to build port
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 10 - 03 - 2024

A US military ship is sailing towards the Middle East, carrying equipment to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, the army says.
The support ship, General Frank S Besson, set sail from a military base in the state of Virginia on Saturday.
It comes after President Joe Biden said the US would build the floating harbor to help get aid into Gaza by sea.
The UN has warned that famine in the Gaza Strip is "almost inevitable" and children are starving to death.
Aid deliveries by land and air have proved difficult and dangerous.
The World Food Program had to pause land deliveries after its convoys came under gunfire and looting.
And on Friday, there were reports that five people had been killed by a falling aid package, when its parachute failed to open properly.
The US ship departed "less than 36 hours" after Biden made his announcement, US Central Command wrote on X.
It is "carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies" to Gaza, the statement continued.
The Pentagon has said it could take up to 60 days to build the pier with the help of 1,000 troops — none of whom would go ashore.
Charities have said those suffering in Gaza cannot wait that long.
Meanwhile, an aid ship laden with some 200 tons of food is expected to set sail from a port in Larnaca, Cyprus on Sunday afternoon, Cypriot media report.
It follows an EU announcement that a new sea route would be opened over the weekend to allow aid to sail directly from Cyprus — the closest EU country to Gaza.
The ship, Open Arms, belongs to the Spanish charity of the same name, and the food on board has been provided by US charity World Central Kitchen.
It is unclear how any aid delivered by sea would get safely to shore before the US pier is built. Gaza has no functioning port and its surrounding waters are too shallow for large vessels.
However, Oscar Camps, the founder of Open Arms, told the Associated Press that at the destination point — which remains a secret — a team from the World Central Kitchen has been building a pier to receive the aid.
Israel has welcomed the ocean initiative, and said aid would be delivered after security checks were carried out in Cyprus "in accordance with Israeli standards".
Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage.
More than 30,900 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run Health Ministry said.
The conflict has created a growing humanitarian crisis, and the UN has warned that at least 576,000 people across the Gaza Strip — one quarter of the population — are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Western countries have pressed Israel to expand land deliveries by facilitating more routes and opening additional crossings.
Lorries have been entering the south of Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing and the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing.
But the north, which was the focus of the first phase of the Israeli ground offensive, has been largely cut off from assistance in recent months.
An estimated 300,000 Palestinians are living there with little food or clean water.
Israel has been accused of hampering aid efforts, and an independent UN expert last week accused it of mounting "a starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza".
Yeela Cytrin, a legal adviser at the Israeli mission to the UN, responded that "Israel utterly rejects allegations that it is using starvation as a tool of war", before walking out in protest. — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.