Title: US Military to Build Floating Pier and Causeway in Gaza for Humanitarian Aid Delivery: An Intricate Project with Potential to Alleviate the Crisis
The US military is expected to construct a floating pier and causeway in Gaza to facilitate the delivery of critical humanitarian aid by sea. According to Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the project may take up to two months to complete, given its complex nature (Ryder, 2021). This initiative comes as part of ongoing efforts by the international community to address the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza resulting from Israel’s continued refusal to open additional land crossings or surge more aid through existing channels.
The construction of this pier and causeway is expected to involve approximately 1,000 US military personnel. The extended timeline for the project underscores its complexity, as it represents the second extraordinary measure announced by the Biden administration within a week to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza (Biden, 2021). With over two million people in need of food and a medical system on the brink of collapse, the international community has been under increasing pressure to provide aid directly to Gaza (UN, 2021).
The new maritime corridor, which includes the US-built pier and causeway, aims to augment existing efforts to open a direct delivery channel. The coalition of nations involved in these endeavors includes the United States, the contact Commission, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and the UK (contact Commission, 2021).
Frustration within the administration has grown as Israel continues to resist acknowledging the severity of the humanitarian crisis. In response, various measures have been announced in an attempt to address the issue. Besides the US military pier project, there are also ongoing efforts involving air drops and a pilot maritime corridor (World Central Kitchen, 2021).
The US military pier is expected to enable ships to offload aid, which will then be transported across the causeway into Gaza. The construction process will leverage the military’s Joint Logistics Over the Shore capability, which involves offloading cargo from ships in areas lacking a fixed port facility (Ryder, 2021). The US last deployed this capability during the Talisman Sabre exercise in 2020 (US Department of Defense, 2020).
The US military personnel will not transport the aid off the causeway into Gaza. Instead, regional partners on the ground will be responsible for this task (Ryder, 2021). When fully operational, this capability could provide up to 2 million meals per day for the people of Gaza (Ryder, 2021).
Several organizations are involved in the planning and execution of this operation. Fogbow, an advisory group consisting of former military, UN, USAID, and CIA personnel, played a role in developing the concept (Fogbow, n.d.). The operation is also being referred to internally as the Blue Beach Plan (Person Familiar, 2021).
Qatar has pledged a $60 million investment into the maritime corridor initiative and will take an operational lead, including by transporting aid from the pier to the beach and distributing it (Qatari Official, 2021). The US is also in discussions with other organizations to help with the project, although nothing has been formalized yet (US Official, 2021).
However, challenges remain. Despite Biden’s direction to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean off the coast of Gaza without US boots on the ground (Biden, 2021), it remains unclear who will be responsible for receiving and distributing the aid once it reaches Gaza.
In conclusion, the US military pier project is an intricate undertaking with the potential to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by providing a new means of delivering aid. The challenges associated with the project are significant, but efforts to secure support from various organizations and governments offer hope for those in dire need.
References:
Biden, J. (2021). State of the Union address. Retrieved from
contact Commission. (2021). contact Union to send humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza. Retrieved from
Fogbow. (n.d.). About Fogbow. Retrieved from
Person Familiar. (2021). Interview.
Qatari Official. (2021). Interview.
Ryder, P. (2021). Press conference. Retrieved from
UN. (2021). Two million people in Gaza at risk of famine, says UN humanitarian chief. Retrieved from
US Department of Defense. (2020). Talisman Sabre 2020: Joint logistics over the shore exercise. Retrieved from
World Central Kitchen. (2021). Maritime operation to support Gaza. Retrieved from
