US Military Constructing Floating Pier for Humanitarian Aid in Gaza Amid Crisis

The United States Central Command has released images showing the construction of a floating pier off the coast of Gaza by US military personnel to deliver humanitarian aid to the beleaguered strip’s population suffering from hunger crisis. The temporary causeway is being built at sea and photos depict crew members from various navy vessels erecting it. Additionally, satellite imagery captured by Planet Labs reveals the pier under construction. According to Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, building costs for Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS), a system that enables delivery of aid via sea, will amount to approximately $320 million. The cost includes all expenses incurred during its initial assembly process. Operationally managing and maintaining the pier could increase expenditures over time as well. A senior military official stated on Monday that US forces intend to distribute humanitarian supplies at an average of 90 trucks a day via sea starting early May, with this figure increasing to 150 trucks daily once full operational capacity is reached. The operation will continue for several months without any American boots being deployed in Gaza, as President Joe Biden announced earlier this year. Instead, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and US forces plan to attach anchors at opposite ends of the causeway offshore within hours following construction completion, as noted by an army spokesman cited in a military official’s statement last week. The British Navy support ship RFA Cardigan Bay is sailing from Cyprus towards Gaza to provide accommodation for hundreds of US soldiers and marines working on building the pier. Aid will be transported via commercial ships around 200 nautical miles north, anchored by military vessels offshore before being transferred onto smaller Army boats that can carry up to fifteen trucks each. The World Food Programme (WFP) plans to assist in distributing aid from the floating dock once it reaches Gaza’s shoreline while USAID will collaborate with UN agencies on distribution operations, according to WFP and US officials cited by CNN earlier this month. Aid supplies were already scarce before Israel’s military campaign; however, humanitarian conditions have worsened as all 2.2 million Gazans lack enough food due to the conflict’s escalation in recent weeks, with half of them on the brink of starvation and famine imminent according to IPC assessments (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification). Reports from human rights organizations indicate that Israel has severely restricted aid deliveries into Gaza. Before hostilities commenced last month, about 500 trucks full of supplies were being unloaded daily in the Palestinian enclave. The United States and other allies have warned against an Israeli military operation planned for southern Gaza’s Rafah due to potential civilian casualties that could arise from it. Twenty-two people died during airstrikes over Rafah on Monday night, including at least one infant and young child as per hospital officials cited by CNN. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in remarks made on Monday that there has been “measurable progress” towards delivering aid to Gaza; however, he added that it is not enough to resolve the humanitarian predicament altogether (Associated Press/Reuters).