First aid crosses the big U.S. pier and enters Gaza.

Trucks started entering the Palestinian enclave on Friday. Israel’s assault has closed many crossings, which are essential for supplying food, gasoline, and other help.

TFD – Humanitarian aid trucks began arriving in Gaza on Friday via a US-constructed floating dock, delivering much-needed supplies amidst Israel’s assault that has closed crucial crossings.

Using a makeshift dock constructed by the US, trucks transporting humanitarian relief started coming ashore in Gaza on Friday, bringing much-needed supplies to the embattled Palestinian territory.

The floating dock is part of a makeshift effort to stave off a possible famine in Gaza, where Israel’s military assault has shut off a number of crossings that are crucial for supplies of food, fuel and other aid.

While the nation’s attorneys defended their ground offensive in Rafah before the UN’s highest court, Israeli soldiers continued their sweeping operations against Hamas in the enclave’s north and south.

A day after the pier was completed by the military, the U.S. Central Command announced in a post on X that the assistance trucks started into Gaza at approximately 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET).

According to CENTCOM, “No US troops went ashore in Gaza.” It continued, stating that aid was being given by several nations and humanitarian groups. “This is an ongoing, multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza via a maritime corridor that is entirely humanitarian in nature,” it said.

According to Britain, help coming through the pier included its own.

“Today marks the successful delivery of UK supplies to the Gaza shore—the first delivery across the temporary pier constructed by the US. Along with supplies from the US and the UAE, 8,400 temporary shelter coverage kits comprised of plastic sheeting have arrived in Gaza. The U.K. government announced in a statement that more aid will be sent in the upcoming weeks.

The primary point of entry for aid into Gaza, the Rafah crossing, has been closed for almost two weeks due to Israeli forces seizing control of the Palestinian side during a ground operation that has resulted in their pushing deeper into eastern Rafah and forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee the city that was declared a “safe zone.”

The Israel Defense Forces reported that the neighboring Kerem Shalom crossing, which was closed following a recent Hamas attack that claimed the lives of four Israeli troops, has reopened together with the “Western Erez” crossing, another point of entry.

Growingly frustrated with the situation in Gaza, the Biden administration has threatened to stop supplying some armaments if the US ally proceeds with a full-scale invasion of Rafah.

According to an IDF statement on Friday, troops were still active in “several locations” throughout the city and had taken down a long-range missile launch pad.

Additionally, it stated that troops had “expanded combat zones and intensified operational control” in the vicinity of Jabalia in northern Gaza, a region the IDF had previously claimed to have cleared, forcing thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes.

Israel defended its operations in Rafah, saying they were presently “limited,” at the International Court of Justice Friday, in a case brought against South Africa accusing the country of genocide over its Gaza offensive. However, Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, has stated that more soldiers are anticipated to join the ground operation.

Since Israel began its assault on Gaza in response to Hamas’s October 7 offensive, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths and about 250 hostages, local health experts estimate that over 35,000 people have died in Gaza. Israeli officials also report that this number includes approximately 250 hostages.

The claims of genocide have been denied by the United States and Israel.

Humanitarian organizations and medical professionals have expressed concern over the restricted supply of aid entering Gaza in recent days, given the ongoing violence.

Although transporting food and other supplies to Gaza via land is significantly more effective, Israeli settlers and activist organizations have targeted recent convoys in an effort to stop help from getting to Gaza as long as Hamas is holding Israeli captives.

Jordan, a neighbor, is where some of the trucks are from. According to two top Jordanian officials who spoke with NBC News, Israeli hardliners have targeted their convoys, and the Israeli army has not done enough to confront the issue.

Adam Hamawy, a Palestinian American physician who has been working at one of the city’s few remaining hospitals in the midst of increasingly concerning conditions, stated that aid of all types is desperately needed in Rafah.

He said to NBC News on Wednesday, “I see little kids running around that are basically skin and bones.” “Food becomes an issue where everyone is basically having a minimal meal a day.”

On Thursday, the UN expressed gratitude to the US for its efforts while cautioning that aid to Gaza could not be contingent on the makeshift dock.

“Obviously, more needs to be done, even though this is a new mechanism of assistance for Gaza,” he stated.

In an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “We want to see it open,” placing the burden for the Rafah crossing’s delayed reopening on Egypt. Egypt has stated that Israel bears alone responsibility for the crossing’s closure following its occupation of the Palestinian side.

As food supplies in Gaza run low, the U.N.’s senior humanitarian officer issued a warning that famine had become an imminent threat. This coincided with the building of the U.S. pier.

“Food supplies that were previously present in southern Gaza are depleting. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told Reuters in a Geneva interview that “I think we’re talking about almost none left.”

According to Patel, the United States is “deeply concerned about the reports indicating worsening conditions and imminent famine in Gaza.” Patel made this statement on Thursday.

“Israel needs to do more to urgently provide sustained and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance to enter both northern and southern Gaza,” he stated.