A $320m floating pier built for delivering aid has been attached to Gaza's shore and began being used to deliver aid on Friday, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) says. Washington has provided billions of dollars in aid as well as weapons that Israel has used in Gaza since October 7.

Aid groups have criticised the pier as a costly and ineffective distraction from the fact that land deliveries are the most efficient way to help Gaza.

What was initially proposed as a way to supplement aid to a starving population as Israel's punishing war on them continues may become the only source after Israel seized and closed the Rafah land crossing with Egypt. Israelis have also begun attacking aid trucks heading to Gaza through Israeli crossings.

The pier has been criticised as a complicated and costly alternative that tries to deflect attention from demanding a more appropriate and much simpler solution – for Israel to open land crossings to Gaza and to secure aid trucks going in.

Israel has been ordered to open more land crossings by the International Court of Justice as part of a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Humanitarian aid had been trickling in through the Rafah crossing but came to a halt when the Israeli military seized control of the area in its offensive in the southern city.

The project stops on bad weather days as rough seas slow down the ships while the pier is unusable in waves higher than 90cm (three feet) or winds faster than 24km/hour (15mph), according to a 2006 US Naval War College paper on safe cargo handling.

Earlier this month, CENTCOM had to pause offshore assembly of the pier due to high winds and high sea swells, moving everything near Ashdod.