Gaza floating pier

Last updated

Gaza floating pier
Gaza pier May 16.png
Causeway connected to Gaza shore, shortly after completion on May 16
TypeBarge landing
CarriesFood aid from Cyprus
Locale Mediterranean Sea off Gaza Strip
Characteristics
ConstructionFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
Flag of the United States Navy (official).svg  United States Navy
History
Construction startApril 6, 2024
Completion dateMay 16, 2024
Opening dateMay 17, 2024

The Gaza floating pier is a floating dock facility created by the U.S. military, after being proposed immediately before U.S. President Biden's 2024 State of the Union Address on March 7, 2024. It was completed in May 2024.

Contents

It was constructed by U.S. military forces on ships offshore the Gaza Strip, then connected to the shore by causeway, to enable delivery of maritime cargo for humanitarian assistance to Gaza. [1] [2] [3] [4] The unloading point joins the Netzarim Corridor. [5] The World Food Programme will be responsible for receiving and distributing the aid. [6]

President Biden stated that Israel "must also do its part." He further stated that "Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority." [7] Israel will inspect the humanitarian aid in Cyprus prior to shipping, and again at checkpoints in Gaza when it is delivered off the pier. The pier has the capacity to deliver 150 trucks of aid per day. [8]

Background

A blockade has been imposed on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip since Hamas's takeover in 2007, led by Israel and supported by Egypt. The blockade's current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas. [9]

Attempts to bring in humanitarian aid by water into Gaza has been attempted multiple times, and has end with intervention by the Israeli military. In May 2010 the IDF participated in a military operation dubbed the Gaza flotilla raid against six civilian ships in international waters, resulting in contested events, nine passengers of the flotilla killed and thirty passengers and 10 IDF troops wounded. [10] In July 2011, a second flotilla was planned by 22 NGOs to attempt to break the maritime blockade but did not take place. [11] In the summer of 2015, a third flotilla was planned to break the blockade and set out from Sweden with multiple stops before being intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters and participants detained. [12] [13]

The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Israel–Hamas war which began after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. [14] [15] The crisis includes both a famine and a healthcare collapse. At the start of the war, Israel tightened its blockade on the Gaza Strip on 9 October 2023, with Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a "total blockade", [16] blocking the entry of food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity. [17] This has resulted in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies. [14] [18]

In January 2024, Israeli authorities blocked 56% of humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. [19] On 9 February 2024, UNRWA's director Philippe Lazzarini reported that Israel had blocked food for 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza. [20]

Outline plan

A JLOTS offshore modular unloading platform in 2012 Aboard USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK 3006) for JLOTS 2012 (7895291764).jpg
A JLOTS offshore modular unloading platform in 2012
Army and Navy personnel constructing a JLOTS floating pier in 2008 US Navy 080721-N-1424C-317 The Army Trident pier approaches Gold Beach during Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore (JLOTS) 2008.jpg
Army and Navy personnel constructing a JLOTS floating pier in 2008

During October and November 2023, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides developed the maritime aid corridor idea, named the Amalthea Initiative, [21] [22] with European Union leaders at a humanitarian conference in Paris and elsewhere. [23] [24] On November 5, 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Cyprus to discuss the maritime aid corridor. [25]

On November 20, 2023, Christodoulides said Cyprus was ready to ship large quantities of humanitarian aid to Gaza when a pause in fighting was declared. He said that in the short term shallow-draft vessels could be used to ferry aid, and in the medium term a floating dock off Gaza could be used. He had been in regular contact with the Israeli Prime Minister about the proposal, but getting authorization required careful negotiations. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Israel was "definitely in favor of the project." [26] [27]

The Jerusalem Post reported that a senior Israeli diplomatic source said the plan was based on a proposal for a maritime route to Gaza via Cyprus for humanitarian assistance initiated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in collaboration with President Biden on October 22, 2023. The Jerusalem Post reported that on October 31, Netanyahu outlined this proposal to Cypriot President Christodoulides and on January 19, 2024, Netanyahu proposed to Biden a team should be set up to explore the proposal including inspection of all goods transported. [28] [29] On December 20, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said "The creation of a maritime corridor to Gaza will help Israel's economic disengagement from the Strip", following a meeting with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos to discuss the maritime aid corridor. [30] Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had proposed a similar plan to Cyprus in 2010 when it was called the Lieberman Proposal, [31] and again in 2018 when he was Defense Minister. [32] In 2021, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid proposed the Gaza Development Plan which included a sea port on an artificial island under Israeli security control off Gaza. [33] [34]

The pier will probably allow delivery of thousands of tons of food aid at a time, equivalent to "hundreds of truckloads", [35] via barge embarked in Cyprus and screened for contraband there. [36]

General Frank S. Besson supported construction of the Gaza pier LSV-1 General Frank S. Besson Jr.jpg
General Frank S. Besson supported construction of the Gaza pier

Over 1,000 U.S. military personnel will be involved in construction of the pier and 1,800 foot (550 m) long Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore (JLOTS) type modular causeway, over a 60 day period. [37] [38] The part of the JLOTS system [39] to be deployed is a large floating modular unloading platform secured by sea anchors stationed about three miles offshore, allowing supplies to be then transferred by lighters to a modular causeway off the shore. [40] [41] The project, known internally as the Blue Beach Plan, was partially developed by an advisory group called Fogbow, co-founded by Michael Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, and Sam Mundy, a retired Marine Lt. Gen. The plan includes potentially dredging a corridor on a private beachfront to aid unloading. The goal is to allow barges to approach the shore for aid distribution onto trucks. The military pier, once operational, could provide another way for aid delivery. [42] [43] [44]

Fogbow plan

The Fogbow plan is a strategy created by the American advisory group Fogbow, founded by Michael Mulroy and Sam Mundy and managed by former US military and intelligence personnel, to establish a maritime corridor. According to the initial Fogbow plan, a significant portion of aid will be transported using Masri trucks to the Gaza Industrial Zone, a specified area within the Gaza sector. Additionally, Fogbow aims to set up a new beach landing site for delivering humanitarian aid. This initiative seeks to improve aid distribution by increasing the number of drop zones along the coast, making it easier to transport aid to remote areas that are difficult to reach by typical overland routes. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have agreed to provide security assistance to Fogbow. To support the implementation of this plan, funding will be directed through a recently established foundation called the "Maritime Humanitarian Aid Foundation." [45] [46] [47]

Construction and route history

MV Roy P. Benavidez USNS Benavidez (T-AKR 306).jpg
MV Roy P. Benavidez
Construction began in the Mediterranean Sea 8 km from Gaza Strip, inside the exclusion zone shown here Map of Gaza Strip with no-go zone 2012.jpg
Construction began in the Mediterranean Sea 8 km from Gaza Strip, inside the exclusion zone shown here
Construction of the floating pier, April 26, 2024 RRDF floating pier near Gaza April 2024, 240426-D-DO477-1002.jpg
Construction of the floating pier, April 26, 2024

On March 9, 2024, U.S. Army support ship General Frank S. Besson was sent from Norfolk to begin construction of the pier. [48] Four more ships with 500 Army troops left on March 12. The ships included landing craft USAV Wilson Wharf, USAV Matamoros and USAV Monterrey; and Besson-class support ship USAV SP4 James A. Loux. [49] [50] [51] In addition to Army, Naval Beach Group 1 from San Diego, and MV Roy P. Benavidez (T-AKR-306) from an East Coast maritime reserve force were assigned to assist in construction. [52] Roy P. Benavidez departed from Virginia on March 21. [53]

The Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee chairpersons Mark Warner and Ben Cardin (both Democrats) requested briefings from the Biden administration on the force protection plan for the U.S. units participating in construction. [54] On March 28, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs told press that Israel would be providing security during installation of the pier. [55]

By April 5, Besson and Benavidez had reached the Mediterranean. [56] By April 17, Besson, Benavidez and three other Army vessels had reached Crete. [57]

The Royal Navy is participating in the effort. RFA Cardigan Bay is used by American soldiers and sailors as a dormitory. [8]

On April 26, construction of the pier by US forces began, [58] and satellite photos published a few days later showed Benavidez building the dock 8 kilometers (4.3 nautical miles) from the Gaza shore. [59]

On May 1, a Pentagon spokesperson said that the floating pier was complete, and the causeway was under construction, with the total project more than half completed. [60] On May 7, it was reported that the causeway had been assembled offshore and was ready to be moved and connected to the shore. [61] [62] On May 16, the U.S. military announced that the causeway had been anchored and connected to the Gaza shoreline. [63] [64] Trucks began delivering aid off of the pier on May 17. [65] On May 21, a Pentagon spokesperson said that 569 tonnes of aid had crossed to the temporary pier but had so far not been distributed, and that moving forward on "safety and security" for humanitarian aid organization workers was critical. [66]

The U.S. military cost estimate to build the pier and operate it for 90 days is $320 million, roughly double the initial estimate. [67]

Temporary interim jetty

On March 12, prior to construction of the U.S. pier, a barge "testing" the delivery route, operated by Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms and loaded with 200 tons of food from World Central Kitchen, left the port of Larnaca in Cyprus for Gaza. [68] [69] A jetty for unloading the barge was built at a location that was initially "not disclosed for security reasons", [70] but later discerned to be south of Gaza City ( 31°29′49″N34°24′29″E / 31.497°N 34.408°E / 31.497; 34.408 (Gaza WCK jetty) ) by journalists using commercial satellite imagery or talking to local construction workers. [71] [72] The Cyprus foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, said on March 13 that the US pier and the food route out of Larnaca would become a single operation. [73] The first barge arrived and began to be unloaded at the World Central Kitchen jetty on March 15. [74] [75]

Reactions

On 17 May 2024, the spokesperson for UNOCHA stated that getting aid into Gaza "cannot and should not depend on a floating dock far from where needs are most acute". [76] On 21 May, the UN stated aid had not entered Gaza from the pier in two days, and that it was at risk of failure unless Israel provided safe operating conditions for humanitarian organizations. [77] The White House National Security communications adviser stated, "This temporary pier is not enough... Clearly not enough is being done to open up the crossings. That’s just unacceptable". [78]

See also

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References

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  61. ↑ Mitchell, Ellen (May 7, 2024). "US completes building humanitarian pier off Gaza coast". The Hill.
  62. ↑ "US completes construction of Gaza aid pier". Agence France-Press. May 7, 2024 – via Radio France Internationale. The US military has completed construction of its Gaza aid pier, but weather conditions mean it is currently unsafe to move the two-part facility into place, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
  63. ↑ Lamothe, Dan; Horton, Alex (2024-05-16). "U.S. military says Gaza pier is anchored, aid deliveries set to begin". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  64. ↑ Dress, Brad (May 16, 2024). "US military anchors pier to Gaza; aid expected within days". The Hill.
  65. ↑ Kim, Victoria (May 17, 2024). "In the first aid delivery to Gaza by sea in two months, Pentagon officials said that no U.S. troops entered the territory" – via NYTimes.com.
  66. ↑ Irwin, Lauren (21 May 2024). "No Gaza aid delivered through US pier has been distributed to Palestinians, Pentagon says". The Hill. Washington DC. Retrieved 22 May 2024– via msn.com.
  67. ↑ Stewart, Phil; Psaledakis, Daphne (29 April 2024). "US military's pier in Gaza to cost 20 million" . Reuters. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  68. ↑ "Aid ship testing sea corridor from Cyprus to Gaza sets sail". Al Jazeera. March 12, 2024.
  69. ↑ "First aid ship to Gaza leaves Cyprus port in pilot project". Reuters. March 12, 2024.
  70. ↑ de Vega, Luis; Hierro, Lola (March 13, 2024). "Operation Safeena: The thousand and one obstacles to bringing aid to Gaza by sea". El Pais. Another problem was how to unload the aid in Gaza when there are no working ports left. For this reason, WCK has been building a jetty for weeks with rubble and the remains of bombed buildings and with some cranes and construction machines that still work. Its location has not been disclosed for security reasons.
  71. ↑ Fabian, Emanuel (March 14, 2024). "Aid from Cyprus to enter Gaza via new pier; EU warns of pockets of famine". The Times of Israel .
  72. ↑ "Preparations for maritime dock for aid shipments to Gaza continue – Large vehicles transporting cement blocks from Khan Younis port to Gaza City to build temporary floating dock". Yeni Şafak . March 14, 2024.
  73. ↑ "Cyprus says its maritime aid corridor will utilize US-built Gaza pier". Associated Press. March 13, 2024 – via Times of Israel. Cyprus' foreign minister says a US initiative to build a pier off Gaza for large-scale aid deliveries to the territory by sea will eventually be folded into the Cyprus-Gaza maritime corridor that's currently running. Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos says although the two initiatives are now separate, all aid reaching Gaza by sea will eventually have as its single departure point the Cypriot port of Larnaca.
  74. ↑ Ebrahim, Nadeen (March 15, 2024). "Aid is being shipped to Gaza by sea. But a new maritime corridor is unlikely to stop the looming famine". CNN.
  75. ↑ Patil, Anushka (March 15, 2024). "First Ship Carrying Food Aid Arrives in Gaza". The New York Times.
  76. ↑ Baldor, Lolita C. "Trucks are rolling across a new US pier into Gaza. But challenges remain to getting enough aid in". Associated Press. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  77. ↑ "UN suspends Rafah aid distribution and warns US pier may fail". The Guardian. Associated Press. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  78. ↑ "'Just unacceptable': US denounces lsrael's land closures for Gaza aid". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

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