A pier built by the US military to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip will be dismantled and brought home, ending an operation that was plagued by persistent weather and security problems that limited the delivery of food and other supplies to starving Palestinians.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command, told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday that the pier had achieved its intended effect in an operation he called “unprecedented.”
As the US military abandons the sea route for humanitarian aid, questions are being raised about Israel’s new plan to use the Ashdod port as a replacement. So far, there are few details on how it would work, and concerns remain about whether aid groups will have enough reliable land crossings to bring aid into territory besieged by the war between Israel and Hamas.
Cooper said the Ashdod corridor would be more sustainable and has already been used to deliver more than a million pounds of aid to Gaza. He also added:
“Having now delivered the largest volume of humanitarian assistance ever into the Middle East, we’re now mission complete and transitioning to a new phase. In the coming weeks, we expect that millions of pounds of aid will enter into Gaza via this new pathway.”
The US decided to scrap the project, which had long been plagued by bad weather and security uncertainties. In addition, the operation of the temporary pier was hampered by difficulties with food delivery.
On March 9, the support vessel General Frank S. Besson-class was dispatched to begin construction of the pier. Besson-class. The $230 million pier, which the US positioned as a temporary solution to the problem of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, became operational on May 17.
The project later faced numerous challenges. On May 25, the US military reported that four boats that were part of the pier’s support system became separated from the structure due to rough weather. At the end of the month, the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip was suspended. According to the Pentagon, more than 1,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid were delivered to the shore.
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis commented on the news of the pier’s closure:
“Mission complete? Are they kidding us at a time hundreds of thousands of kids are dying of thirst and hunger?”
There’s less aid, more victims
Meanwhile, Israel’s military offensive has killed 81 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip overnight, bringing the total death toll since 7 October to 38,794, the enclave’s health ministry said on Wednesday.
Some 89,166 others were injured in the attacks, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said:
“Israeli forces killed 81 people and injured 198 others in two “massacres” against families in the last 24 hours. Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them.”
Palestinian health authorities estimate that more than 10,000 people are still missing under the rubble of destroyed homes across the Gaza Strip.
In violation of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has come under international condemnation for its ongoing brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Over nine months into Israel’s war, vast areas of Gaza lie in ruins under a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the UN International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling orders Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians took refuge from the war before it was captured on May 6.
