U.S. military aid ship heads to Gaza after Biden promises to build pier

The U.S. Army has dispatched ashipto send humanitarian aid toGaza, Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday, days after President Joe Biden vowed to build atemporary pierto supply the besieged enclave.

The General Frank S. Besson left Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia "less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance toGazaby sea," CENTCOM said in a statement.

The logistics support vessel is "carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies," it said.

Biden's announcement in his State of the Union address on Thursday followedwarnings by the United Nations of widespread famine amongGaza's 2.3 million Palestinians five months after Israel launched its offensive in the narrow strip in response to an attack by Hamas militants in October that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that at least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.

Gazahas no port infrastructure. The U.S. initially plans to use Cyprus, which is offering a process for screening cargothat will include Israel officials, removing the need for security checks inGaza.

Most ofGaza's people are now internally displaced, and there aresevere bottlenecks in aid deliveries at land border checkpoints.

Gazahas been under an Israeli navy blockade since 2007, when Hamas took control of the enclave. There have been few direct sea arrivals since then.

The daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza by land over the past five months has been far below the 500 that entered before the war because of Israeli restrictions and security issues.

Barge in Cyprus to carry food to Gaza

Meanwhile, in Cyprus, charity workers loaded relief supplies bound for Gaza on to abargeon Saturday as part of an international effort to launch a maritime corridor to the Palestinian population.

The European Commission had said a maritime aid corridor between Cyprus and Gaza could start operating as early as thisweekendin a pilot project run by an international charity and financed by the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.).

WATCH |Skepticism among Palestinians over U.S. aid-by-sea plan:

Skepticism among Palestinians over U.S. aid-by-sea plan

6 months ago

Duration 3:19

There is skepticism from some Palestinians over U.S. plans to get more aid into Gaza by sea as hopes fade for a ceasefire before Ramadan.

TheOpenArms, a salvage vessel owned by a Spanish non-governmental organizationthat's more accustomed to rescuing migrants at sea, was moored at a port in the coastal Cyprus town of Larnaca, roughly 340 kilometres northwest of Gaza.

It will tow abargewith 180tonnesof food sourced by the charity World Central Kitchen and mostly funded by the U.A.E. The timing of its departure from Cyprus was unclear.

Mlanie Joly, Canada's foreign affairs minister, said in a statement on Sunday that Canada will join the international coalition that is working together to increase the flow of aid to Gaza through a humanitarian sea corridor originating from Cyprus.

The announcement comes following a meeting betweenJoly and her counterpart for the United Arab Emirates. In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Joly saidthey discussed the need to increase the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza through all means possible.

The new push for getting more aid in came on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which follows a lunar calendar and could start as early as Sunday evening, depending on the sighting of a crescent moon.