On Wednesday, the US military announced the termination of operations on the floating pier they installed off the coast of Gaza earlier this year. This marks the end of an ambitious yet troubled effort to increase aid volume entering the besieged Strip.
Construction of the pier was announced by President Biden in March at an estimated cost of $320 million and the involvement of about 1,000 US soldiers. Designed to streamline the delivery of humanitarian aid, the US military said more than 9,000 tonnes of aid were delivered via the floating pier over the two months it was online. However, bad weather often disabled the pier; during its instalment, numerous sections had to be re-attached as stormy conditions would cause them to dislodge. Moreover, the pier has been out of action since June 28 and the presence of US forces in the vicinity of the conflict zone has raised concerns among many.
The UN and other humanitarian organisations including the Red Crescent have said the total aid delivered through the pier represents a tiny fraction of the aid required by the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza. They estimate that 500 lorries of aid are needed daily – equivalent to about 10,000 tons.
Separately, other controversies have plagued the operation, with many highlighting the significantly more effective and efficient route to get aid into the strip via land crossings. Critics have also outlined the high cost and the so called US-Israel ‘special relationship’ which the US should have leveraged to pressure Israel to allow more aid to enter through border crossings. US Admiral Cooper said that the pier was a “historically unprecedented operation to deliver aid into an active combat zone without any US boots on the ground”. He also expressed Israel’s support of the US decision to move the pier to the Israeli port of Ashdod which lies only 19 miles from Northern Gaza.
Written by Rakan Pharaon
