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 harbour 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.
The US and Jordan carried out an airdrop on Sunday, parachuting in more than 11,500 meals that included rice, flour, pasta, and canned food, the US military said.
Aid deliveries by land and air have proved difficult and dangerous.
The World Food Programme 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 Mr Biden made his announcement, US Central Command wrote on X.
Meanwhile, an aid ship laden with some 200 tonnes 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 US pier is built. Gaza has no functioning port and its surrounding waters.
BBC
