Middle East

1440 -  US Army engineers have started building (w/visuals) a floating pier for the passage of humanitarian aid off the coast of Gaza. The pier is expected to be completed by early May and is estimated to help unload as many as 2 million meals per day from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. More than 1,000 US troops are estimated to be involved in building the pier; however, the troops won't be setting foot onto the Gaza Strip as part of an order from President Joe Biden. A temporary causeway connecting the pier to the shore is being assembled at sea. At least 150 trucks would receive the aid using the causeway and distribute the meals to the enclave's roughly 2.3 million people. Large swaths of the population face starvation, according to international groups.