First American Ship Sails Towards Gaza to Establish a Temporary Dock

Hours after U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the United States would provide humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via the sea, the ship "General Frank S. Besson" set sail. The U.S. Central Command announced in a statement today, Sunday, that the Army's General Frank S. Besson has left Joint Base Langley-Eustis on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza. They also clarified that this logistics support ship departed less than 36 hours after Biden's announcement that the country would provide humanitarian assistance to the region by sea. Additionally, they revealed in a tweet on their X platform account that the ship "is carrying the initial equipment to establish a temporary dock for delivering vital humanitarian supplies." This came after Biden officially confirmed for the first time in his State of the Union address on Thursday the country's intention to create a temporary dock in Gaza to deliver aid, following warnings from the United Nations about the risk of widespread famine among Gaza's 2.3 million residents, five months after Israel launched its attack on the narrow strip in response to Hamas's attack on October 7.