Hamas fires MORTARS at US pier being built by the army off the coast of Gaza in worrying signs troops will be targeted

Militants fired mortars at Israeli forces in Gaza as they prepared for the arrival of a floating U.S. Army pier, American officials said Thursday, an episode that highlights the risks of building a structure for humanitarian aid. 

The 72-feet wide and 270-feet platform is designed to receive shipments of food and other aid transported from Cyprus from Cyprus.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon Press Secretary, said construction began Thursday and work was unaffected by the attack. 

'When it comes to the temporary pier and the causeway, those are being constructed offshore out at sea and ... essentially nowhere near mortar range so that's not what we're talking about here,' he told reporters.

'You know, we're aware of reports that a small number of mortars land landed in the vicinity of the marshalling yard area for humanitarian assistance that will eventually be the delivery site that this pier will support.'

U.S. Army vessels left for the Eastern Mediterranean last month to establish a temporary pier for the delivery of aid to Gaza, where aid agencies say a humanitarian emergency is unfolding

War-weary Palestinians flock to beaches and swim to take a breather among continuous Israeli attacks in Rafah

But he added that no U.S. troops were on the ground in Gaza.

Aid agencies have already expressed concerns about their safety and worries about how Israeli forces will operate in the area. 

Sonali Korde, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development, said key agreements for security and handling the aid deliveries are still being negotiated. 

Those include how Israeli forces will operate in Gaza to ensure that aid workers are not harmed.

'We need to see steps implemented. And the humanitarian community and IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) continue to talk and engage and iterate and improve the system so that everyone feels safe and secure in this very difficult operating environment,' Korde said.

A senior U.S. military official said Thursday the U.S. is on track to begin delivering aid using the new port and pier by early May. 

The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, said deliveries through the sea route initially will total about 90 trucks a day and could quickly increase to about 150 trucks daily.

The senior official acknowledged, however, that the final installation of the U.S.-built causeway onto the beach at the port will be governed by the security situation, which is assessed daily. 

The Israeli Defense Force has a brigade — thousands of soldiers — as well as ships and aircraft dedicated to protecting the deliveries, the official said. 

A video from 2020 shows a U.S. Military floating pier for transporting aid off the coast of United Arab Emirates with a similar setup as the one to be constructed offshore from Gaza

Aid groups have been shaken by the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in an Israeli airstrike on April 1 as they traveled in clearly marked vehicles on a delivery mission authorized by Israel.

The killings have hardened sentiment among some aid groups that the international community should focus instead on pushing Israel to ease obstacles to the delivery of aid on land routes by truck.

The World Central Kitchen staff, who were honored at a memorial service Thursday in Washington, are among more than 200 humanitarian workers killed in Gaza, a toll the U.N. says is three times higher than any previous number for aid workers in a single year of any war.