First aid shipment to US-built pier off Gaza leaves Cyprus

A vessel carrying humanitarian aid to a US-built pier off Gaza set sail from Cyprus in the morning, in the first delivery to the recently built floating ramp, Cypriot officials said.

US officials have said the vessel will be used to offload supplies onto the pier built to expedite the delivery of aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.

Rights groups have stressed that the most effective way to help people in Gaza is through the entry of aid by land, saying that deliveries by sea will not be enough to address the acute humanitarian crisis in the enclave. 

The Israeli military has closed the Rafah crossing and the Kerem Shalom crossing thia week, cutting off the entry of food, supplies, and fuel.