The Government is reportedly considering sending British troops to Gaza to help deliver aid once the US finishes building a new sea route into the besieged territory.

The Pentagon on Friday confirmed that construction of the temporary pier, designed to speed up humanitarian aid into Gaza as famine looms, had begun and operations will begin in early May.

In a briefing with journalists, a senior US military official emphasised that no American troops would be ashore and that nationals from an unnamed “third country” would drive the trucks along the 500-metre floating causeway to a secure area on the beach.

“We have a third party who will be driving the trucks down the pier,” the official said. “Just a point of emphasis, there will be no US military boots on the ground. So, a third party is driving those trucks.” 

While refusing to name which country would supply the drivers, he made clear it would be carried out by a “significant partner.”

The UK is considering sending British troops to fulfil the task, the BBC reported, but no decision has been made.