Gaza floating pier

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Gaza floating pier
Causeway connected to Gaza shore, shortly after completion on May 16
TypeBarge landing
CarriesFood aid from Cyprus
LocaleMediterranean Sea off Gaza Strip
Characteristics
Construction United States Army
 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.

It was constructed by U.S. military forces based on ships offshore of 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

Blockade of the
Gaza Strip
Crossings
2004
Philadelphi Accord
2006
Economic sanctions
2007
Fatah–Hamas battle
2008
2009
Viva Palestina "Lifeline 3"
2010
2011
2015
Freedom Flotilla III
2016
Women's Boat to Gaza
2023
Israeli "total blockade"
2024
2024 Gaza freedom flotilla
See also: Humanitarian aid during the Israel–Hamas war

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
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

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
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

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]

A Centurion C-RAM (Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar) and the M-LIDS anti-drone systems have been installed by the shore attached section of the pier for force protection.[67][68]

The U.S. military cost estimate to build the pier and operate it for 90 days is $320 million, roughly double the initial estimate.[69]

Damage and removal

On May 25, 2024, the U.S. military announced that four boats that served as part of the pier's support system broke off from the structure, following choppy waters. The four boats became beached, with the military stating that the structure would remain operational. It also added that efforts were underway to retrieve the four vessels.[70]

On May 28, 2024, the U.S. military suspended aid delivery to Gaza after the floating pier was damaged by bad weather.[71] The Pentagon confirmed that a portion of the causeway was damaged and broken off, and must be repaired before being returned to use. Spokeswoman Sabrina Singh stated that the pier will be removed from the sea with help from the Israeli Navy, and undergo over a week of repairs in Ashdod, before returning.[72][73]

The Pentagon estimated that up to the suspension over 1,000 tonnes of aid had been delivered to shore, 900 tonnes of which had reached UN warehouses.[74]

Temporary interim jetty

See also: World Central Kitchen § Operation Safeena

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.[75][76] A jetty for unloading the barge was built at a location that was initially "not disclosed for security reasons",[77] but later discerned to be south of Gaza City (31°29′49″N 34°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.[78][79] 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.[80] The first barge arrived and began to be unloaded at the World Central Kitchen jetty on March 15.[81][82]

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".[83] 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.[84] 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".[85]

See also

References

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Further reading

External links

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