Officials in Cyprus announced today, Thursday, that a ship carrying humanitarian aid has sailed to the floating dock built by the United States off the coast of Gaza.

The ship Sagamore, flying the American flag, left the port of Larnaca in Cyprus on Thursday morning. American officials said the ship will be used to unload supplies at a floating dock built to expedite the delivery of aid to the besieged enclave.

The duration of the trip was not immediately clear.

Cyprus opened a maritime corridor in March to ship aid directly to Gaza, where overland delivery operations have been severely disrupted due to border closures and the Israeli military offensive.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. military would build a floating dock to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid just over two months ago in his State of the Union address.

The Israeli military campaign against Hamas, in response to an attack led by the group in Israel on October 7, has devastated the small Gaza Strip, where relief agencies warn that its 2.3 million inhabitants face impending starvation.

Residents in Gaza reported that Israeli forces amassed tanks and opened fire near residential areas in Rafah on Thursday.

American officials expressed concern about the lack of a viable humanitarian plan for a planned Israeli military operation in the densely populated city of Rafah. After fleeing the fighting to the north, Palestinians have crowded into makeshift camps and shelters in Rafah.

Biden told CNN in a Wednesday interview: "I made it clear that if they go into Rafah... I will not provide them with weapons."

The United States is the largest supplier of arms to Israel and has expedited arms shipments following the Hamas attacks on October 7. Biden acknowledged that American bombs have killed Palestinian civilians in the ongoing seven-month assault.

American officials stated that Washington halted the delivery of a shipment of 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds to Israel due to the risks to civilians in Gaza.

The Biden administration must also submit a report to Congress, which is now overdue, on whether Israel adhered to international law after the arms deliveries.

Israel claims that Hamas militants are hiding in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge after fleeing fighting in other parts of Gaza, and that it needs to eradicate them to ensure its security.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan stated that the American decision to stop some arms shipments to Israel would significantly weaken the country's ability to neutralize Hamas's power, according to Israel's public broadcaster.

UN Agency: "There is no safe place":

Residents and paramedics in Rafah, the only major urban area in Gaza not yet invaded by Israeli ground forces, reported that Israeli tank fire killed three people and injured others near a mosque in an eastern Gaza neighborhood.

On the eastern edge of the city, residents reported that a helicopter opened fire, while drones flew over homes in several areas, some close to rooftop levels.

The Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad stated that their fighters attacked Israeli forces on the eastern outskirts of Rafah, launching anti-tank missiles and mortar shells at Israeli positions.

Israeli tanks took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a vital aid route and forcing 80,000 people to flee the city this week, according to the United Nations.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) posted on X: "The losses suffered by these families are unbearable; there is no safe place."

The Israeli military's statement about operations in Gaza on Thursday morning did not mention Rafah.

However, Israel continued its tank strikes and air raids across Gaza on Thursday. Residents reported that tanks advanced in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City in the north, forcing hundreds of families to flee. The Israeli military stated it is securing the Zeitoun area, starting with a series of airstrikes based on intelligence against nearly 25 "terrorist targets."

The city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza was crowded with thousands of people who have fled from Rafah in recent days. Palestinian paramedics reported that two people, one of them a woman, were killed when a drone fired a missile at a group of people there.

One displaced person, Mohammed Abdel Rahman, expressed fear that the Israeli bombardment is a prelude to an invasion of the city.

The 42-year-old man told Reuters via a messaging app: "This reminds me of what happened before the Israeli tanks invaded our residential areas in Gaza City; usually, the intense shelling allows the tanks to advance toward the places they intend to invade."

About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, including many Canadian civilians, according to Israeli statistics. The Israeli government believes that 128 others are still hostages in Gaza, and 36 have been confirmed dead, out of an initial total of 252.

The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, reported that the Israeli attack on Gaza in response has led to the deaths of 34,904 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

Earlier this week, Israel announced that the three-phase ceasefire proposal agreed to by Hamas was unacceptable, stating that the conditions had been weakened.

Furthermore, two Egyptian security sources stated that an Israeli delegation and CIA Director William Burns left Cairo on Thursday after the latest round of talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire and securing the release of hostages in Gaza.