A U.S. military vessel transporting materials to construct a makeshift pier off the coast of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid has left the country. Its purpose was to circumvent Israeli obstruction of aid operations while the Israeli military continued to bombard the Gaza Strip.
A little more than a day after U.S. President Joe Biden’s announcement, General Frank S. Besson departed its base in the United States on Sunday, “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies,” according to the Central Command (CENTCOM) of the military.
Although the United States claims to be concerned with mitigating the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, Biden maintains his endorsement of armament shipments to Israel amidst the latter’s campaign.
Since October 7, when Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups attacked Israeli civilians and communities, the United States has authorised the transfer of one hundred arms to Israel in retaliation for Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over thirty thousand people, the majority of whom are children and women.
The United States had been making arrangements to deliver to Israel approximately 1,000 KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which convert unguided ammunition into precision-guided explosives, and 1,000 MK-82 500-pound (227kg) bombs just one month ago.
Additionally, the United States has twice circumvented congressional approval to expedite the delivery of armament to Israel, despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of potentially committing genocide.
As a result of its refusal to aid the critically ill Palestinians in Gaza in the delivery of nutritional aid, Israel has been accused of opening fire on those attempting to obtain help. As a remedy, the United States has proposed constructing a pier off the coast of Gaza.
“Had the United States been sincere [about providing aid], it would have exerted pressure on Israel to open the land crossings, permit aid and relief to enter, and cease the onslaught.” “Biden has not called for a cessation of hostilities or a ceasefire,” Mohammed al-Masri of the Palestinian Centre for Strategic Studies.
As Gaza lacks a functional port infrastructure, Biden stated in his State of the Union address on Thursday that he directed the military to construct a pier off the Mediterranean coast of Gaza to receive ships transporting food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters.
Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder stated on Friday that construction of the pier and causeway connecting it to land could take up to sixty days and require approximately one thousand United States personnel. Offshore, the soldiers shall remain.
The announcement was made after United Nations warnings that the 2.3 million inhabitants of Gaza would be subject to widespread malnutrition five months after Israel’s offensive commenced.
The United States intends to utilise Cyprus, which has proposed a procedure for cargo screening that would involve Israeli officials, thereby eliminating the necessity for security inspections in Gaza.
The Palestinians place significant importance on Biden’s exertion of pressure on Israel, given that Biden is an ally in the ongoing conflict. “His precarious standing among U.S. voters and the opinion polls indicating he is on shaky ground with minorities prompted him to establish this port,” Al-Masri explained.
Still, land crossings are the optimal option
A vessel transporting 200 tonnes of humanitarian cargo for Gaza was preparing to depart from Cyprus along a maritime corridor that the European Union anticipates will be operational by Sunday.
Senior U.N. humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, has stated that air and sea shipments cannot compensate for the lack of land-based supply routes.
The United States plan, according to Avril Benoit, executive director of the United States chapter of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), is a “glaring diversion from the real problem: Israel’s disproportionate and indiscriminate military campaign and punishing siege.”
Land crossings are more economical, secure, and practical than maritime routes or airdropping aid.
According to aid organisations, at least 1,300 trucks of humanitarian relief provisions are required daily in Gaza.
Israel has held United Nations agencies accountable for the escalating food shortages in Gaza, alleging that they are neglecting to distribute the supplies that are accumulating at the border crossings.
According to the main U.N. agency in Gaza, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), entry is slowed by cumbersome inspections and product restrictions.
Many questions persist, according to Al-Masri, concerning establishing the port.
“Should Israel invade Rafah and the border crossing be closed, will the Palestinians be forced to evacuate through this port?” Who will ensure the protection of the humanitarian aid en route to the port, and who will be responsible for its physical distribution? “Peerless could oversee this enormous relief effort?” he inquired.
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Al-Masri remarked that in the past, Israeli forces opened fire on Gaza police officers who attempted to prevent the distribution of aid. “Moreover, they forbid the Palestinian Authority from participating; therefore, who will it be?”
Israel has maintained complete authority over the Gaza Strip’s territorial waters and coastline since 1967, preventing vessels from accessing the area.
Israel has maintained a naval blockade on Gaza’s port and nearly all of its border passages since 2007, rendering it the only seaport in the Mediterranean that is inaccessible to vessels.
