Cigar boxes to steel pontoons: What to know about the new floating pier delivering aid to Gaza

By 1941, testing had proved the design and the system were ready for mass production.

Palestinians in Gaza have begun receiving humanitarian aid delivered through a newly completed floating pier off the coast of the besieged territory. Built by the U.S. military and operated in coordination with the United Nations, aid groups and other nations’ militaries, the pier can trace its origins back to a mid-20th century U.S. Navy officer who collected discarded cigar boxes to experiment with a new idea.