The flow of aid to Gaza via the new US-made pier is not as rapid as we would prefer, stated national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last Wednesday. He acknowledged that “It is not flowing at the rate that any of us would be happy with, because we always want more,” noting that the US is striving to implement “necessary security arrangements in place” to prevent looting.
Hamas is attacking the shipments coming off the new US pier as the terrorist group has been doing since the start of humanitarian aid to Gaza – to rob the goods and sell them on the black market to Gazan civilians. But there’s another reason for the attacks, which may become a regular feature in the vicinity of the pier.
United Nations officials reported that approximately a dozen trucks loaded with aid supplies from the pier failed to reach their intended destinations within Gaza. The officials stated that impoverished Gazans seized control of the aid, and the trucks were unable to take alternative routes due to restrictions imposed by Israel.
Remember the US floating pier in Gaza?
Great idea right? Cuz it’s definitely solving the problems.. or maybe not pic.twitter.com/TCW0xZ9Xh6— Shai?️ (@ShaiNeverAgain) May 23, 2024
The Wall Street Journal on Saturday reported that “An ambitious US effort to get aid into Gaza via a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea has gotten off to a sluggish start, facing many of the same logistical challenges that have throttled broader attempts to ease the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.”
The WSJ continued: “The Pentagon spent $320 million and engaged 1,000 soldiers and sailors to open a major maritime corridor last week, delivering on President Biden’s promise in March that the US military would install a temporary dock off the Gaza coast for cargo ships to unload food, water, and other supplies. Fourteen ships from the US and other countries are involved in a mission supported by humanitarian groups and several nations including Israel.”
An Israeli ?? army video of the pier constructed in Gaza, using rubble from bombed out Palestinian ??homes.
Thousands of food trucks are still denied entry to Gaza ??
Nothing to do with aid.
It’s a military presence for the US ?? UK ?? & Israel ??
— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) March 21, 2024
GAZA ARABS COULD USE THE PIER TO FLEE
Hisham Khreisat, a Jordanian military and strategic affairs expert, told Anadolu in March that “the floating port off the shores of Gaza is a humanitarian facade hiding voluntary migration to Europe. This military tactical port will receive Israeli approval because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been seeking this idea since the beginning of the war, aiming for the voluntary displacement of Gazans and their fleeing to Europe.”
PA analyst Usame Abdulhadi told Anadolu in March that the US and Israel were not being honest about the project. “If they were honest, the trucks and massive bulldozers entering Gaza to build the port would have stepped up to rescue thousands of wounded who continue to bleed to death under the rubble of homes destroyed by the Occupying state,” he said. “This pier will be built to strengthen Israel’s sovereignty on the coast, to render the Rafah Border Crossing ineffective, to end Palestinian sovereignty, and to encourage the migration of the people of Gaza.”
?Update: Biden’s $320 million dollar Gaza temporary Pier Has Detached & Drifted Onto Israeli Beach! pic.twitter.com/tZ2XciXibI
— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) May 25, 2024
According to US officials, the floating pier was intended to quickly ramp up operations after initially opening, with a target capacity of enabling 150 trucks per day to enter Gaza and provide aid to at least 500,000 people monthly.
Jake Sullivan dismissed suggestions that the currently lower throughput levels indicated poor planning, instead attributing it to “a dynamic environment.”
The pier has commenced operations at a critical juncture in the nearly eight-month conflict, as Hamas attacks have obstructed and delayed passage through the two southern border crossings that previously served as the main conduits for aid entering Gaza.
The maritime corridor, coupled with an ongoing air-drop campaign, was designed to supplement the more cost-effective and efficient ground deliveries. However, notes the WSJ, if the sea route manages to scale up operations while the Rafah campaign persists, the pier could potentially become a vital lifeline for a population facing famine conditions.
And a lifeline, as every sane person understands, means a connection for the suffering civilians in Gaza to seek a better life in Europe, the US, and South America.
