Satellite images show progress on new Gaza port

JERUSALEM — The building of a new port in the Gaza Strip ahead of a U.S. military-led operation to bring more food and other aid into the enclave as Israel’s war on Hamas grinds on is well underway, according to satellite images analyzed Thursday by The Associated Press.

The construction appears to have been moving quickly over the past two weeks, judging from the images, and some officials say the port could become ready as early as a week from now.

The port sits just southwest of

Gaza City, which once was the territory’s most-populous area before the Israeli ground offensive rolled through, pushing over 1 million people south toward the town of Rafah on the Egyptian border.

But the site has already been targeted by a terrorist mortar attack, according to the Israeli military. An official from the Hamas terrorist group, which has run Gaza since 2007, has warned that any foreign military presence at the pier would be a target for attack.

The satellite pictures, taken by Planet Labs PBC, show that heavy construction at the site started over two weeks ago.

The area sits just north of a road bisecting Gaza that the Israeli military built during the fighting.

A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes deliberations, said the port “is directly at the end of the new road the IDF has put in place.” The official used an acronym for the Israeli military.

Heavy trucks and machinery could be seen in an image taken a week ago by Planet Labs, with the cleared area appearing even larger in an image taken Wednesday.

A dirt berm separates the area from nearby buildings.

The port probably will have three zones: one controlled by the Israelis where aid from the pier is dropped off, another where the aid will be transferred, and a third where Palestinian drivers contracted by the U.N. will wait to pick up the aid before bringing it to distribution points, the U.N. official said.

Still, the official said several sticking points remain around how the Israelis would handle the port’s security.

The military is reportedly seeking to install remote-controlled gun positions, which the U.N. opposes.

Meanwhile, the under-construction pier for the U.s.-led project to bring aid into the Gaza Strip came under fire Wednesday, forcing U.N. officials to take shelter there, Israeli and U.N. officials said.

No terrorist group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault. Authorities said that no one was wounded.