The US military has confirmed that the first shipment of humanitarian aid has arrived in Gaza via a temporary floating pier.

US Central Command said that aid trucks began moving ashore on Friday at about 09:00 local time (07:00 BST).

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said delivering 8,400 plastic shelters was “the culmination of a herculean joint international effort.”

About 500 tonnes of British aid, including tents, hygiene kits, and forklift trucks. The US armed forces constructed the pier through which they expect to deliver the aid in the coming weeks.

“This is an ongoing, multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza via a maritime corridor. It is entirely humanitarian in nature,” the US Central Command said in a statement on X, adding that no US troops went ashore.

“More aid will follow, but we know the maritime route is not the only answer,” Mr Sunak said.

“We need to see more land routes open, including via the Rafah crossing. To ensure much more aid gets safely to civilians in desperate need of help.”

The UK has supported the construction of the pier

The pier which was anchored to the shore on Thursday. They are providing accommodation for US personnel on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Cardigan Bay.

Please remember to collect the aid from a floating base before transporting it to Gaza.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron stated that the maritime route was “just one part of the bigger picture”. They emphasized that land routes were “the most effective means of getting aid into Gaza at the scale needed.”

He added: “Gazans are at risk of famine. They are in desperate need of supplies. Please remember to open land routes and safely deliver aid to where it is needed in Israel.

The pier is expected to initially provide access for 90 truckloads of aid, increasing to 150 truckloads once it is fully operational.

Both the prime minister and Lord Cameron reiterated calls for Israel to meet its commitment to allow at least 500 aid trucks a day into Gaza through land crossings. Also, to open as many routes as possible for aid to access the territory.

British and the US Join Forces to Deliver Aid to Gaza

British personnel have been working with US counterparts aboard RFA Cardigan Bay to build and operate the pier.

The US began building the floating base weeks ago to facilitate the delivery of aid to Gaza as Israel continues its military campaign against Hamas.

About 2.2 million Palestinians need food, shelter and other assistance.

Hundreds of tonnes of aid arrived in Cyprus on Wednesday. Before loading onto commercial ships for delivery to the pier, they screened it.

Smaller US military vessels can carry between five and 15 lorries of aid. The aid is then transported to the floating pier, which is several hundred meters long and fixed to the beach in Gaza.

The lorries traveled along the pier before dropping off the aid at a marshaling yard on the beach.

Authorities said the UN, primarily the World Food Programme, would distribute onward aid.

Aid deliveries to the territory have slowed down since Israeli forces took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing last week.

Israel shut down the key crossing of Kerem Shalom overnight earlier this month. A Hamas rocket attack near the crossing killed four of its soldiers.

Delivering aid to Gaza via land routes can be dangerous. Aid convoys at times looted by gangs and mobbed by desperate civilians.

An Israeli drone strike killed seven aid workers from the organization World Central Kitchen in April.