The $230 million temporary dock that the U.S. military built on short notice to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza has largely failed in its mission and will likely be destroyed, aid organizations say. ended operations weeks earlier than originally planned.
In the month since it was attached to shore, the dock has only been operational for about 10 days. The rest of the time, it is under repair after rough seas cause it to crumble, detached to avoid further damage, or suspended due to security concerns.
The dock was never meant to be anything more than a temporary measure while the Biden administration pushed Israel to allow more food and other supplies into Gaza via land routes, which would be much more efficient. to provide relief. But even the most modest goals for the dock may not be met, some US military officials said.
When the dock was formed, health authorities warned that the territory was headed for famine. In recent weeks, Israel has allowed greater access to aid organizations but the groups say the situation remains dire.
The Biden administration initially predicted that it would take until September for rising sea levels to render the dock inoperable. However, military officials are now warning aid organizations that the project could be scrapped as early as next month, a looming deadline that officials say they hope will put pressure on Israel must open more road routes.
President Biden ordered the US military to begin construction of the dock in March, at a time when he was facing harsh criticism for not doing more to restrain the Israeli military response to the attacks led by Hamas on October 7.
The first aid trucks began moving ashore on May 17. Since then, the project has struggled while many Gazans are suffering from terrible hunger, aid groups said.
In the latest blow to aid efforts, the US military said on Friday it would temporarily move the pier to avoid damage from rough seas.
The decision “was not made lightly but is necessary to ensure the temporary dock can continue to provide aid in the future,” United States Central Command said in a social media post, saying the dock would be towed to Israel. Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said Monday that the dock could be reattached and aid deliveries would resume later this week.
The jetty “is not working, at least for Palestinians,” Stephen Semler, co-founder of the Institute for Security Policy Reform, wrote in a report. essay on The Art of Responsible Leadership, a publication of the Quincy Institute. Mr. Semler said that the dock only succeeded in providing “humanitarian cover” for the Biden administration’s policy of supporting Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
US officials said that in addition to providing aid as many land routes were closed, the dock also highlighted the urgent need to provide more general humanitarian assistance to Gaza. But the project’s challenges have frustrated top officials in the Biden administration.
Despite delays due to weather and other issues, there was one bright spot: The pier had not yet been hit.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon denied claims on social media that the dock had been used in an Israeli raid freed four hostages but that led to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians.
Hours after the rescue, video circulated online showing an Israeli military helicopter taking off from the beach with an American dock in the background.
After the videos emerged, US Central Command said in a statement that the dock and its “equipment, personnel and assets were not used in today’s hostage rescue operation in Gaza”.
US military officials are especially concerned about possible attacks because of many reports after the rescue that The US provides intelligence information on the hostages before the operation.
Last week, Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, denounced “inaccurate allegations on social media” that the dock was part of the rescue, but said “there was a “type of helicopter operations” near the dock during the rescue. work.
Arlan Fuller, Project Hope’s director of emergency response, said the image of “the helicopter taking off from the beach really goes against the general purpose of the humanitarian space.” He added that the images “muddy the waters” and could put humanitarian workers on the dock at greater risk.
In addition, Central Command has just announced that the pier can be used again after nearly two weeks of downtime for repairs while the hostage rescue effort took place. A day later, the World Food Program said it was again suspending aid distribution from the dock because of security concerns.
Mr. Biden surprised the Pentagon when he suddenly announced the dock during his State of the Union address. Army engineers built and deployed the dock over a two-month period, with about 1,000 US troops now involved in part of the project.
When Mr. Biden announced the project, officials predicted that it would help provide up to two million meals a day to Gazans. The Pentagon calls the project JLOTS, short for Joint Logistics Over the Shore, a capability it has previously used for humanitarian relief in Somalia, Kuwait and Haiti.
On days when the wharf was operating normally, it allowed thousands of tons of aid to be transported to Gaza, officials said.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of Central Command, recently said problems with the dock “solely stem from unforeseen weather.”
Normally, spring and early summer on the Gaza coast are calmer. Paul D. Eaton, a retired major general who was in Somalia in 1993 when the U.S. military built a dock there to deliver humanitarian aid to war-torn civilians, said: “ Plan on X, and nature sends 2X”.
Some Republicans in Congress have criticized the project because of its costs and potential risks to the US military.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said: “This irresponsible and expensive experiment defies all logic except the obvious political explanation: to appease the president’s extreme left.” in the first day of this month.
Aid workers say deliveries of food and other supplies have been slowed by shipping congestion at border crossings caused by extended truck inspections, limited operating hours and protests. Israeli love.
Israel argues that there is no limit to the amount of aid allowed in. It regularly blames disorganized aid groups – as well as theft by Hamas – for failing to effectively feed Palestinians.
Central Command on Friday said 3,500 tons of aid had been brought ashore by dock since the operation began on May 17, with about 2,500 tons of that delivered since the landing. The ship was moored and resumed operations on June 8.
However, aid groups say much of the aid destined for the Palestinians fails to arrive because of logistical and security problems as well as looting.
Aid workers say only seven trucks carrying aid arrive in Gaza through the docks each day, far short of the ultimate goal of increasing it to 150 trucks a day.
“The volume is negligible,” said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Center for Global Health Policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And the sea will become more and more rough.”
