First shipment of aid to the US-built floating pier in Gaza departs from Cyprus

Associated PressA crane loads food aid for Gaza onto the container ship Sagamore docked at Larnaca port, Cyprus, Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

It remains uncertain whether Israel will launch an all-out invasion of Rafah as international efforts for a cease-fire continue. Israel has said that an assault on Rafah is crucial to its goal of destroying Hamas after the militant group's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that left 1,200 dead and 250 seized as hostages and abducted to Gaza.

Biden, in an interview with CNN, said the U.S. was still committed to Israel's defense and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms, but that if Israel goes into Rafah,"we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used." The vessel's voyage comes about two months after Biden gave the order for the building of the large floating platform several miles off the Gaza coast to be a launching pad for deliveries since not enough aid was getting in through land crossings, which require stringent checks by Israel, and by air drops.

An official from Cyprus told The Associated Press that if conditions didn't allow for the vessel to offload directly onto the pier, it would load smaller vessels, which would transport the aid directly to Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details of the operation. International aid groups warned Wednesday that a distribution network is at risk of collapse across the territory because fuel shipments into Gaza were cut off. Israel's threat of invasion of Rafah itself, where many of the aid groups have based their warehouses and staff, is also further disrupting distribution, the groups said.

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