{"id":76399,"date":"2024-06-19T11:56:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/19\/u-s-pier-for-gaza-aid-is-failing-and-could-be-dismantled-early\/"},"modified":"2024-06-19T11:56:05","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:56:05","slug":"u-s-pier-for-gaza-aid-is-failing-and-could-be-dismantled-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/19\/u-s-pier-for-gaza-aid-is-failing-and-could-be-dismantled-early\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Is Failing, and Could Be Dismantled Early"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/18\/multimedia\/18dc-pier-zhtf\/18dc-pier-zhtf-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"U.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Is Failing, and Could Be Dismantled Early\" title=\"U.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Is Failing, and Could Be Dismantled Early\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The $230 million temporary pier that the U.S. military built on short notice to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza has largely failed in its mission, aid organizations say, and will probably end operations weeks earlier than originally expected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the month since it was attached to the shoreline, the pier has been in service only about 10 days. The rest of the time, it was being repaired after rough seas broke it apart, detached to avoid further damage or paused because of security concerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The pier was never meant to be more than a stopgap measure while the Biden administration pushed Israel to allow more food and other supplies into Gaza through land routes, a far more efficient way to deliver relief. But even the modest goals for the pier are likely to fall short, some American military officials say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When the pier was conceived, health authorities were warning that the territory was on the precipice of famine. In recent weeks, Israel has given relief organizations greater access, but the groups say the situation remains dire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Biden administration initially predicted that it would be September before surging seas would make the pier inoperable. But military officials are now warning aid organizations that the project could be dismantled as early as next month, a looming deadline that officials say they hope will pressure Israel to open more ground routes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">President Biden ordered the U.S. military to begin building the pier in March, at a time when he was being sharply criticized for not doing more to rein in Israel\u2019s military response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The first truckloads of aid began moving ashore on May 17. Since then, the project has struggled, while many Gazans are experiencing immense hunger, aid groups say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the latest blow to the aid effort, the U.S. military said on Friday that it would temporarily move the pier to keep it from being damaged by high seas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The decision \u201cis not made lightly but is necessary to ensure the temporary pier can continue to deliver aid in the future,\u201d the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CENTCOM\/status\/1801724619843313842\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Central Command<\/a> said in a post on social media, stating that the pier would be towed to Israel. Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said on Monday the pier could be reattached and aid deliveries resumed later this week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The pier \u201cis not working, at least not for Palestinians,\u201d Stephen Semler, a co-founder of the Security Policy Reform Institute, wrote in an <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/how-much-aid-gaza-pier\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">essay for Responsible Statecraft<\/a>, a Quincy Institute publication. Mr. Semler argued that the pier had succeeded only in providing \u201chumanitarian cover\u201d for the Biden administration\u2019s policy of supporting Israel\u2019s bombardment of Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">U.S. officials say that in addition to delivering aid with many of the land routes closed, the pier also threw a spotlight on the urgent need to provide more humanitarian assistance overall to Gaza. But the project\u2019s challenges have frustrated and disappointed top Biden administration officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite the weather-related delays and other problems, there has been one bright spot: The pier has not yet been hit in an attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Earlier this month, the Pentagon rejected claims on social media that the pier had been used in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/10\/world\/middleeast\/israel-hostage-rescue-gaza.html\" title=\"\">an Israeli raid that freed four hostages<\/a> but that led to the deaths of scores of Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the hours after the rescue, video circulated online showing an Israeli military helicopter taking off from the beach with the U.S. pier in the background.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After the videos emerged, U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the pier and \u201cits equipment, personnel and assets were not used in the operation to rescue hostages today in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">American military officials were especially concerned about possible attacks because reports had emerged after the rescue that the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/09\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-hostage-rescues-israel.html\" title=\"\">United States provided intelligence<\/a> on the hostages before the operation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last week, Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, denounced \u201cinaccurate social media allegations\u201d that the pier was part of the rescue, but said that \u201cthere was some type of helicopter activity\u201d near the pier during the operation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Arlan Fuller, the director of emergency response with Project Hope, said the image of \u201cthe helicopter taking off from the beach really was contravening to the overall use of the humanitarian space.\u201d He added that the image \u201cmuddies the waters\u201d and could put humanitarian workers on the pier in greater risk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Added to that, Central Command had just announced that the pier was usable again after a nearly two-week hiatus for repairs when the hostage rescue effort took place. A day later, the World Food Program said it had again paused aid distribution from the pier because of security concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Biden surprised the Pentagon when he suddenly announced the pier in his State of the Union address. Army engineers built and deployed the pier in two months\u2019 time, with about 1,000 U.S. troops now involved in some part of the project.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Mr. Biden announced the project, officials predicted that it would help deliver as many as two million meals a day for Gazans. The Pentagon calls the project JLOTS, for Joint Logistics Over the Shore, a capability that it has previously used for humanitarian relief in Somalia, Kuwait and Haiti.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On the days that the pier has been in working order, it has enabled the delivery of thousands of tons of aid to Gaza, officials say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the Central Command deputy commander, recently said that the issues with the pier \u201cstemmed solely from unanticipated weather.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Usually, spring and early summer on the shores of Gaza are calmer. \u201cPlan on X, and nature sends 2X,\u201d said Paul D. Eaton, a retired major general who was in Somalia in 1993 when the U.S. military put a pier in place there to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians caught in war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Several congressional Republicans have criticized the project for its cost and potential risk to U.S. troops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis irresponsible and expensive experiment defies all logic except the obvious political explanation: to appease the president\u2019s far-left flank,\u201d Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wicker.senate.gov\/2024\/6\/senator-wicker-statement-on-return-of-pier-components-to-gaza\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">earlier this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aid workers say the deliveries of food and other supplies have been slowed by bottlenecks for shipments at border crossings caused by lengthy inspections of trucks, limited operating hours and protests by Israelis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel has argued that there are no limits on the amount of aid it allows to enter. It regularly blames disorganized aid groups \u2014 as well as theft by Hamas \u2014 for failure to deliver food to Palestinians efficiently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Central Command said on Friday that 3,500 tons of aid had been delivered to shore using the pier since the operation started on May 17, with about 2,500 tons of that delivered since the pier was re-anchored and resumed operations on June 8.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But much of the aid that makes it through is not reaching Palestinians, aid groups said, because of the logistical and security issues, and looting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aid workers say the equivalent of only seven truckloads of assistance is arriving in Gaza via the pier each day, far short of the goal of eventually ramping up to 150 trucks per day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe volume is negligible,\u201d said J. Stephen Morrison, the director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. \u201cAnd the seas are just going to get rougher and rougher.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/18\/us\/politics\/gaza-pier-israel-aid.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The $230 million temporary pier that the U.S. military built on short notice to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza has largely failed in its mission, aid organizations say, and will probably end operations weeks earlier than originally expected. In the month since it was attached to the shoreline, the pier has been in service only [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/18\/multimedia\/18dc-pier-zhtf\/18dc-pier-zhtf-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,47257,1402,7241,43,38801,221],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76399"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76399"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76401,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76399\/revisions\/76401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}