The United States has sent a message to Hamas that the maritime pier built to deliver aid into the Gaza Strip does not have a military capacity for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and has a strictly humanitarian purpose, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said on Friday.
"There's been some bogus stuff out there in the information environment, particularly in the region, that this [pier] has some sort of military capacity or operational capacity for the IDF, and it just doesn't. It's nothing more than humanitarian assistance, and we've also passed that message back through the appropriate channels to Hamas so they understand exactly what this is," Kirby said during a press briefing.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed, and some 240 others abducted during the attack.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 35,303 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.