Hamas rejects military presence in Palestine

Hamas issued a statement on Friday saying the US-built pier off the Gaza Strip is no alternative to opening all land crossings under Palestinian supervision, adding that they reject any military presence on Palestinian land.

Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip started rolling across a newly built US pier and into Gaza for the first time. Friday’s shipment is the first in an operation that US military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day.

It comes as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hindered the delivery of food and other supplies seven months into the Israel-Hamas war. But the US and aid groups warn that the floating pier project is not a substitute for land deliveries that could bring in all the food, water and fuel needed in Gaza.

A report from Cairo said Israeli forces battled Hamas fighters in the narrow alleyways of Jabalia in northern Gaza on Friday in some of the fiercest engagements since they returned to the area a week ago, while in the south militants attacked tanks massing around Rafah.