The US Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S. Besson (LSV-1) has departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, the US Central Command said in a statement early on Sunday.
Besson, a logistics support vessel, departed “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the US would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” the statement added.
It is “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies.”
Biden’s announcement in his State of the Union address on Thursday followed UN warnings of famine among Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians five months after Israel launched its operation in the Gaza Strip in response to the October 7 massacre initiated by Hamas.
Cargoes to be screened in Cyprus
Gaza has no port infrastructure. The US initially plans to use Cyprus, which is offering a process for screening cargoes that will include Israel officials, removing the need for security checks in Gaza.
Most of Gaza’s people are now displaced, with severe bottlenecks in aid deliveries at land border checkpoints.
Gaza has been under an Israeli navy blockade since 2007, when Hamas took control of the enclave. There have been few direct sea arrivals since then.
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