WASHINGTON (AP) — Four U.S. Army boats, loaded with tons of equipment and steel pier segments, left Virginia on Tuesday, heading to Gaza as part of the U.S. effort to expand the delivery of food and other supplies to starving Palestinians as Israel’s war against Hamas drags on.
The ships pulled out of docks at Joint Base Langley-Eustis and headed down the James River toward the Atlantic Ocean for what could be a month-long voyage to the Mediterranean Sea. There, at a yet-to-be-announced location along the Gaza shore, they will build and begin to operate a floating dock to receive the aid.
Since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Israel’s military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and creating a humanitarian catastrophe. The U.N. says virtually all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are struggling to find food. But getting humanitarian …