US ends Gaza floating pier mission

The US military yesterday announced that its mission to install and operate a temporary, floating pier off the coast of Gaza was complete, Reuters reported.

The pier, announced by President Joe Biden during a televised address to Congress in March, took about 1,000 US forces to execute, however it has faced many challenges including becoming detached from land on several occasions as a result of the sea and weather conditions.

Since it was announced, aid groups have warned that the pier would be insufficient to provide the necessary aid to Palestinians trapped in Gaza and suffering as a result of a “man-made famine” forced on them by Israel. All entry ports to Gaza have been closed since early May and Israel vowed to stop food and water entering Gaza in October, effectively promising to starve civilians to death.

Though some aid has arrived into Gaza from the port, after travelling across the Mediterranean from Cyprus, the $320 million structure has only been operational for about 20 days.

“The maritime surge mission involving the pier is complete. So there’s no more need to use the pier,” Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of US Central Command, told a news briefing.

Cooper said efforts to distribute aid to Gaza arriving by sea would now shift to the established port of Ashdod in Israel. At least 5 million pounds of aid, which are either in Cyprus or on ships, will be going to Ashdod in the coming days, he said.

“Our assessment is that the temporary pier has achieved its intended effect to surge a very high volume of aid into Gaza and ensure that aid reaches the civilians in Gaza in a quick manner,” Cooper said, adding that nearly 20 million pounds of aid was delivered to Gaza.

However critics have said the pier’s main aim was to support Israel’s aggression on Gaza. It is thought to have been used to smuggle in special forces ahead of Israel’s Nuseirat Massacre on 8 June in which 300 Palestinians were killed in an operation carried out to release four Israeli prisoners of war held in Gaza.

The pier became a sore point in Congress, where Republicans branded it a political stunt by Biden, who was under pressure from fellow Democrats to do more to aid Palestinians after months of staunchly supporting Israel in its genocidal war on Gaza.

“This chapter might be over in President Biden’s mind, but the national embarrassment that this project has caused is not. The only miracle is that this doomed-from-the-start operation did not cost any American lives,” Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said.

The pier has not been used since June, when it was moved to Ashdod port because of rough seas. It was unclear if the US military had started dismantling the pier at Ashdod before its expected return to the United States.

The UN World Food Programme paused operations at the pier in June because of security concerns, causing aid to pile up on the Gaza shore.

The United Nations has long said maritime deliveries were no substitute for land access. It said land routes needed to remain the focus of aid operations in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor last month said there is a high risk of famine.

Aid officials say about 600 trucks of humanitarian and commercial supplies are needed in Gaza daily to meet the needs of the Palestinians in the Strip.

READ: FACTBOX – How much has US-built Gaza aid pier helped get aid into Gaza?