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United States Central Command personnel have announced the completion of its floating bridge to the Gaza Strip. Completed at 7:40 a.m. (Gaza Time) on May 16, the bridge will transport humanitarian aid to the region.

While largely completed a few weeks ago, bad weather prevented the final anchoring to the shore. These works are now officially completed, meaning the 1,800-foot (549-meter) long pontoon bridge is ready to ferry aid.

The bridge is anchored to a temporary pier on Gazas beach. Israeli Defense Force engineers completed the land-based engineering works in preparation for the connection.

While not considered an alternative to cheaper land-based delivery, the pontoon will bring much-needed aid to displaced Gazan civilians.

Pentagon officials have announced that no U.S. troops will set foot on Gazan soil as part of the aid operations. They have also stated that the fighting in Gaza has not directly threatened the shoreline of offshore infrastructure and personnel.

However, the site did receive mortar fire during its construction phase a few weeks ago. But this did not impede or damage the operation in any way. Trucks carrying humanitarian assistance are expected to begin moving ashore in the coming days, the command said.

The United Nations will receive the aid and coordinate its distribution into Gaza, they added. It is not immediately obvious which U.N. agency would be involved.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that Israeli forces will be responsible for security on the shore. Two U.S. Navy warships, the USS Arleigh Burke and the USS Paul Ignatius, are also on station in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Both destroyers carry a wide range of weapons and capabilities to protect American troops offshore and allies on the beach should they need it.

Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani confirmed that the pier had been anchored. He also confirmed that Israeli engineering units flattened the ground around the area and surfaced roads for trucks.

We have been working for months on full cooperation with (the U.S. military) on this project, facilitating it, supporting it in any way possible, Shoshani said. Its a top priority in our operation, he added.

The first cargo ship, MV Sagamore, loaded with 475 pallets of food, left Cyprus last week to meet with a U.S. military ship, the Roy P. Benavidez, off the coast of Gaza. The pallets of aid were then transferred from the MV Sagamore onto the Benavidez.

Military officials have stated that aid delivery will commence gradually to ensure the systems effectiveness. Initially, approximately 90 truckloads of aid will be transported daily via the sea route, with this number expected to increase to around 150 per day in a short period.

The new sea route involves delivering humanitarian aid to Cyprus, where it will undergo inspection and security checks at Larnaca port. The aid is then loaded onto ships, mostly commercial vessels, and transported approximately 200 miles (320 kilometers) to the large floating pier constructed by the U.S. military off the coast of Gaza.

Aid groups will gather the supplies for distribution on the shore, while the U.N. collaborates with the U.S. Agency for International Development to establish a logistics hub on the beach.

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Christopher McFadden Christopher graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Geology. Since then, he has worked exclusively within the Built Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Consultancy industries. He is a qualified and accredited Energy Consultant, Green Deal Assessor and Practitioner member of IEMA. Chris’s main interests range from Science and Engineering, Military and Ancient History to Politics and Philosophy.

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US anchors 1800-foot-long floating platform to ferry aid to Gaza - Interesting Engineering