First Aid Shipment Driven Across New Pier

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip have rolled across a newly built U.S. floating pier into the besieged enclave for the first time. The shipment Friday is the first in an operation that American military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day entering the Gaza Strip as Israel presses in on the southern city of Rafah as its 7-month offensive against Hamas rages on. But the U.S. and aid groups also warn the pier project is not considered a substitute for land deliveries that could allow in all the food, water and fuel needed in Gaza. Before the war, more than 500 truckloads entered Gaza on an average day. Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hinder food and other supplies reaching people there.