
The United States has dispatched a military ship laden with humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza, Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday (March 10).
This comes after US President Joe Biden announced during his State of the Union address that the US military will build a temporary aid port on Gaza's Mediterranean coast to provide humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave via sea.
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 to Gaza by 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.
There is no port infrastructure in Gaza. The US plans to use Cyprus initially, which is offering a procedure for screening of cargoes that will include Israeli officials, eliminating the need for security checks in Gaza.
An Israeli official said Tel Aviv "fully supports the deployment of a temporary dock" on Gaza’s coast and the operation would be carried out "with full coordination between the two parties."
Meanwhile, in a continued effort to secure the release of hostages still held captive in Gaza, the Israeli spy chief met with his US counterpart on Saturday (March 9), Tel Aviv said.
"The head of the Mossad, David Barnea, met yesterday (Friday) with the head of the CIA, Bill Burns, as part of the ceaseless efforts to advance another hostage release deal," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement on behalf of the Mossad.
"Contacts and cooperation with the mediators continue all the time in an effort to narrow the gaps and reach agreements," said Mossad.
The statement comes amid mediators scrambling to secure a new ceasefire deal in the Gaza war before Ramadan which could begin as early as Sunday, depending on the lunar calendar.
"At this stage, Hamas is entrenching its positions like someone who is not interested in a deal and is striving to inflame the region during Ramadan at the expense of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip," it said.
Mossad also stated that Hamas was aiming for unrest in the area to worsen during Ramadan.
Israeli officials have stated that the conflict between the warring sides would come to an end only with the defeat of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
(With inputs from agencies)