Grounding of four American ships on Gaza shores

The U.S. military announced Sunday that four of its ships, which support the floating pier delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, grounded amid rough seas, and efforts to retrieve them were ongoing.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated, “The ships broke free from their moorings; two are now ashore near the pier, while the third and fourth are beached on Israel’s coast near Ashkelon.”

CENTCOM assured, “No American personnel will enter Gaza. No injuries have been reported, and the pier will continue to operate at full capacity.”

President Joe Biden had announced in March the construction of the pier to ease “Israeli” restrictions on aid deliveries to Gaza by land.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the World Food Programme “received 97 trucks since the pier’s operation began” on May 17.

Initially, desperate residents took cargo from some trucks headed to warehouses, but the situation has since stabilized.

CENTCOM reported that as of Friday, 1,005 metric tons of aid had been delivered by sea to the beach transfer point, with 903 metric tons moved from there to the UN warehouse.