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Gaza floating pier

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Gaza floating pier
Construction of the floating pier, April 26, 2024
TypeBarge landing
CarriesFood aid from Cyprus
LocaleMediterranean Sea off Gaza Strip
Characteristics
ConstructionU.S. Army and U.S. Navy
History
Construction startApril 6, 2024
Completion dateMay 7, 2024

The Gaza floating pier is a floating dock facility proposed by the U.S. Biden Administration immediately before the 2024 State of the Union Address on March 7, 2024.

It is being constructed by U.S. military forces on ships offshore the Gaza Strip, then connected with the shore by causeway, and when complete would enable delivery of maritime cargo for humanitarian assistance to Gaza.[1][2][3][4]

President Biden warned Israel that it "must also do its part." "To the leadership of Israel I say this," he said. "Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority."[5]

Israel will inspect the humanitarian aid in Cyprus prior to shipping, and again at checkpoints in Gaza when it is delivered off the pier. The pier has the capacity to deliver 150 trucks of aid per day.[6]

Outline plan

A JLOTS offshore modular unloading platform in 2012
Army and Navy personnel constructing a JLOTS floating pier in 2008

During October and November 2023, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides developed the maritime aid corridor idea, named the Amalthea Initiative,[7][8] with European Union leaders at a humanitarian conference in Paris and elsewhere.[9][10] On November 5, 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Cyprus to discuss the maritime aid corridor.[11]

On November 20, 2023, Christodoulides said Cyprus was ready to ship large quantities of humanitarian aid to Gaza when a pause in fighting was declared. He said that in the short term shallow-draft vessels could be used to ferry aid, and in the medium term a floating dock off Gaza could be used. He had been in regular contact with the Israeli Prime Minister about the proposal, but getting authorization required careful negotiations. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Israel was "definitely in favor of the project."[12][13]

The Jerusalem Post reported that a senior Israeli diplomatic source said the plan was based on a proposal for a maritime route to Gaza via Cyprus for humanitarian assistance initiated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in collaboration with President Biden on October 22, 2023. The Jerusalem Post reported that on October 31, Netanyahu outlined this proposal to Cypriot President Christodoulides and on January 19, 2024, Netanyahu proposed to Biden a team should be set up to explore the proposal including inspection of all goods transported.[14][15] On December 20, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said "The creation of a maritime corridor to Gaza will help Israel's economic disengagement from the Strip", following a meeting with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos to discuss the maritime aid corridor.[16] Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had proposed a similar plan to Cyprus in 2010 when it was called the Lieberman Proposal,[17] and again in 2018 when he was Defense Minister.[18] In 2021, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid proposed the Gaza Development Plan which included a sea port on an artificial island under Israeli security control off Gaza.[19][20]

The pier will probably allow delivery of thousands of tons of food aid at a time, equivalent to "hundreds of truckloads",[21] via barge embarked in Cyprus and screened for contraband there.[22]

General Frank S. Besson will support construction of the Gaza pier

Over 1,000 U.S. military personnel will be involved in construction of the pier and 1,800 foot (550 m) long Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore (JLOTS) type modular causeway, over a 60 day period.[23][24] The part of the JLOTS system[25] to be deployed is a large floating modular unloading platform secured by sea anchors stationed about three miles offshore, allowing supplies to be then transferred by lighters to a modular causeway off the shore.[26][27] The project, known internally as the Blue Beach Plan, was partially developed by an advisory group called Fogbow, co-founded by Michael Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, and Sam Mundy, a retired Marine Lt. Gen. The plan includes potentially dredging a corridor on a private beachfront to aid unloading. The goal is to allow barges to approach the shore for aid distribution onto trucks. The military pier, once operational, could provide another way for aid delivery.[28][29][30]

Fogbow plan

The Fogbow plan is a strategy created by the American advisory group Fogbow, founded by Michael Mulroy and Sam Mundy and managed by former US military and intelligence personnel, to establish a maritime corridor. According to the initial Fogbow plan, a significant portion of aid will be transported using Masri trucks to the Gaza Industrial Zone, a specified area within the Gaza sector. Additionally, Fogbow aims to set up a new beach landing site for delivering humanitarian aid. This initiative seeks to improve aid distribution by increasing the number of drop zones along the coast, making it easier to transport aid to remote areas that are difficult to reach by typical overland routes. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have agreed to provide security assistance to Fogbow. To support the implementation of this plan, funding will be directed through a recently established foundation called the "Maritime Humanitarian Aid Foundation."[31][32][33]

Construction and route history

MV Roy P. Benavidez
Construction began in the Mediterranean Sea 8 km from Gaza Strip, inside the exclusion zone shown here

On March 9, 2024, U.S. Army support ship General Frank S. Besson was sent from Norfolk to begin construction of the pier.[34] Four more ships with 500 Army troops left on March 12. The ships included landing craft USAV Wilson Wharf, USAV Matamoros and USAV Monterrey; and Besson-class support ship USAV SP4 James A. Loux.[35][36][37] In addition to Army, Naval Beach Group 1 from San Diego, and MV Roy P. Benavidez (T-AKR-306) from an East Coast maritime reserve force were assigned to assist in construction.[38] Roy P. Benavidez departed from Virginia on March 21.[39]

The Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee chairpersons Mark Warner and Ben Cardin (both Democrats) requested briefings from the Biden administration on the force protection plan for the U.S. units participating in construction.[40] On March 28, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs told press that Israel would be providing security during installation of the pier.[41]

By April 5, Besson and Benavidez had reached the Mediterranean.[42] By April 17, Besson, Benavidez and three other Army vessels had reached Crete.[43]

The Royal Navy is participating in the effort. RFA Cardigan Bay is used by American soldiers and sailors as a dormitory.[6]

On April 26, construction of the pier by US forces began,[44] and satellite photos published a few days later showed Benavidez building the dock 8 kilometers (4.3 nautical miles) from the Gaza shore.[45]

On May 1, a Pentagon spokesperson said that the floating pier was complete, and the causeway was under construction, with the total project more than half completed.[46] On May 7, it was reported that the causeway had been assembled offshore and was ready to be moved and connected to the shore.[47][48]

Temporary interim jetty

See also: World Central Kitchen § Operation Safeena

On March 12, prior to construction of the U.S. pier, a barge "testing" the delivery route, operated by Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms and loaded with 200 tons of food from World Central Kitchen, left the port of Larnaca in Cyprus for Gaza.[49][50] A jetty for unloading the barge was built at a location that was initially "not disclosed for security reasons",[51] but later discerned to be south of Gaza City (31°29′49″N 34°24′29″E / 31.497°N 34.408°E / 31.497; 34.408 (Gaza WCK jetty)) by journalists using commercial satellite imagery or talking to local construction workers.[52][53] The Cyprus foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, said on March 13 that the US pier and the food route out of Larnaca would become a single operation.[54] The first barge arrived and began to be unloaded at the World Central Kitchen jetty on March 15.[55][56]

See also

References

  1. ^ Magdy, Samy; Sewell, Abby; Madhani, Aamer; Knickmeyer, Ellen (7 March 2024). "Biden orders US military to set up temporary aid port for Gaza as famine threatens" (News article). AP News. Washington, D.C.: Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  2. ^ Karen DeYoung (March 7, 2024). "Live updates and analysis of Biden's address". Washington Post. Biden announces his new initiative for the U.S. military to build a port and a pier to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by ship, and quickly repeats his call for a two-state solution as the only path to peace.
  3. ^ "WATCH: Biden directs U.S. military to build temporary pier in Gaza for humanitarian aid". PBS. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  4. ^ Niall Stanage (March 8, 2024). "5 takeaways from Biden's State of the Union address". The Hill.
  5. ^ Borger, Julian (8 March 2024). "Biden announces US will build pier on Gaza shore for large-scale aid delivery". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b Pelham, Lipika (26 April 2024). "Gaza pier: US begins building floating base to boost aid". BBC News. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  7. ^ Stamouli, Nektaria (9 November 2023). "EU throws weight behind Cypriot plan to ship aid to Gaza". POLITICO. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Efforts intensify to open maritime aid corridor to Gaza". Financial Mirror. Cyprus. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ Irish, John (9 November 2023). "Cyprus outlines plan for maritime corridor to get aid to Gaza". Reuters. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  10. ^ Drosopoulos, Mary (21 November 2023). "Cyprus' Plan for a Maritime Humanitarian Aid Corridor to Gaza". Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  11. ^ "US Secretary, Cyprus President Discuss Gaza Maritime Aid Corridor". Voice of America. AFP. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  12. ^ Hadjicostis, Menelaos (20 November 2023). "Cyprus' president says his country is ready to ship aid to Gaza once a go-ahead is given". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Cyprus prepared to 'immediately' ship aid to Gaza through sea corridor". Times of Israel. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  14. ^ Lazaroff, Tovah (11 March 2024). "Diplomatic source to 'Post': Gaza maritime route was Netanyahu's idea - exclusive". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  15. ^ Eglash, Ruth Marks; Harkov, Lahav (13 March 2024). "Food airdrops, pier construction can't overcome chaos in Gaza aid distribution, say officials". Jewish Insider. New York. Retrieved 16 March 2024. Contrary to the Biden administration's portrayal of the initiative as a way to bypass Israel, Jewish Insider heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tout the idea in a press briefing – off the record at the time – on Nov. 5, 2023. Netanyahu said at the time, less than a month into the war, that he had already discussed the idea with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
  16. ^ "Israel-Cyprus working on maritime aid corridor for Gaza". The Jerusalem Post. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  17. ^ Siegman, Henry (9 August 2010). "An immodest – and dangerous – proposal". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Israel asks Cyprus to consider port for Gaza". Deutsche Welle. AFP and Reuters. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  19. ^ Boxerman, Aaron (12 September 2021). "Lapid proposes 'new vision' for Gaza, promises economic steps for Hamas quiet". Times of Israel. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  20. ^ Lappin, Yaakov (30 September 2021). "Expert says Gaza seaport in Sinai could boost Strip's economy, preserve Israel's security". Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  21. ^ Widakuswara, Patsy (March 7, 2024). "Biden Ordering US Military to Build Port in Gaza to Facilitate Aid". Voice of America.
  22. ^ Engel Rasmussen, Sune. "Sea Corridor for Gaza Tests U.S. Ability to Ease Humanitarian Crisis". The Wall Street Journal – via MSN.
  23. ^ Myers, Meghann (March 8, 2024). "1,000 US troops deploying to build offshore port for Gaza aid". Navy Times.
  24. ^ Chávez, Steff (March 8, 2024). "US says Gaza humanitarian aid pier could take 60 days to be built". Financial Times.
  25. ^ "Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS)" (PDF). Department of Defense. 5 August 2005. JP 4-01.6. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  26. ^ Magdy, Samy; Sewell, Abby; Madhani, Aamer; Knickmeyer, Ellen (8 March 2024). "Biden orders US military to set up temporary aid port for Gaza as famine threatens". Associated Press. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  27. ^ Debusmann, Bernd (13 March 2024). "How the US military plans to construct a pier and get food into Gaza". BBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  28. ^ Natasha Bertrand; Jennifer Hansler; Alex Marquardt (March 8, 2024). "US could take 2 months and 1,000 troops to construct floating pier to deliver aid to Gaza, Pentagon says". CNN.
  29. ^ Debusmann Jr, Bernd (13 March 2024). "How the US military plans to construct a pier and get food into Gaza". BBC News. Washington, D.C., USA. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  30. ^ Lieber, Dov; A. Youssef, Nancy; Salama, Vivian (10 March 2024). "Bid to Pause Israel-Hamas War Falters Before Ramadan Starts". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  31. ^ Bertrand, Natasha; Hansler, Jennifer; Atwood, Kylie; Marquardt, Alex (20 April 2024). "Biden administration secures key agreement for aid distribution from US military pier being built off Gaza coast". CNN. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  32. ^ Melman, Yossi (10 April 2024). "A Thousand U.S. Soldiers, Donations From the UAE: Behind the Plans for Gaza's Aid Pier". Haaretz. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  33. ^ G. Clemmensen, Andrew (2 April 2024). " "Unlike Airdrops, Maritime Aid Corridors Can Actually Help Gaza". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  34. ^ "US military ship sets sail for Gaza to build port for humanitarian aid deliveries". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Reuters. March 10, 2024.
  35. ^ Burchett, Caitlyn (March 12, 2024). "Hampton Roads-based soldiers deploy to build floating pier for Gaza aid". Daily Press. Newport News.
  36. ^ Flaherty, Anne; Luna, Nathan (March 12, 2024). "US troops en route to Gaza coast in deployment families say was a shock". ABC.
  37. ^ Baldor, Lolita C. (March 12, 2024). "US Army boats head out on a mission to build a floating pier off Gaza's shore for food deliveries". Associated Press – via MSN.
  38. ^ SAM LAGRONE; MALLORY SHELBOURNE (March 12, 2024). "Army Watercraft Depart for Gaza Port Mission, Navy Preparing East Coast Reserve Ship to Sail". USNI News. US Naval Institute.
  39. ^ Wynde, Ehren (March 21, 2024). "U.S. ship departs Virginia to aid in Gaza pier construction". UPI – via MSN.
  40. ^ Joe Gould; Lara Seligman (March 15, 2024). "Democrats join Republicans in wanting more answers on Biden's Gaza pier – Sen. Richard Blumenthal says he has 'very serious questions about how the construction will be done, with the assurance of safety to our troops.'". Politico.
  41. ^ Bertrand, Natasha (March 28, 2024). "Israel commits to helping protect US troops off coast of Gaza, Joint Chiefs chair says". CNN.
  42. ^ Bath, Alison (April 5, 2024). "Two US ships in Mediterranean as Pentagon sticks to timeline for Gaza aid corridor". Stars and Stripes.
  43. ^ Frantzman, Seth J. (April 17, 2023). "US Army ships heading to Gaza, arrive in Crete". Jerusalem Post – via MSN.
  44. ^ "Army Begins Building Floating Aid Pier Off Gaza's Coast, Pentagon Says". The New York Times. April 26, 2024.
  45. ^ Gambrell, Jon (April 29, 2024). "US military ships are working to build a pier for Gaza aid. It's going to cost at least $320 million". Associated Press News.
  46. ^ "More than 50% of Gaza pier constructed - Pentagon". Reuters. May 1, 2024.
  47. ^ Mitchell, Ellen (May 7, 2024). "US completes building humanitarian pier off Gaza coast". The Hill.
  48. ^ "US completes construction of Gaza aid pier". Agence France-Press. May 7, 2024 – via Radio France Internationale. The US military has completed construction of its Gaza aid pier, but weather conditions mean it is currently unsafe to move the two-part facility into place, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
  49. ^ "Aid ship testing sea corridor from Cyprus to Gaza sets sail". Al Jazeera. March 12, 2024.
  50. ^ "First aid ship to Gaza leaves Cyprus port in pilot project". Reuters. March 12, 2024.
  51. ^ de Vega, Luis; Hierro, Lola (March 13, 2024). "Operation Safeena: The thousand and one obstacles to bringing aid to Gaza by sea". El Pais. Another problem was how to unload the aid in Gaza when there are no working ports left. For this reason, WCK has been building a jetty for weeks with rubble and the remains of bombed buildings and with some cranes and construction machines that still work. Its location has not been disclosed for security reasons.
  52. ^ Fabian, Emanuel (March 14, 2024). "Aid from Cyprus to enter Gaza via new pier; EU warns of pockets of famine". The Times of Israel.
  53. ^ "Preparations for maritime dock for aid shipments to Gaza continue – Large vehicles transporting cement blocks from Khan Younis port to Gaza City to build temporary floating dock". Yeni Şafak. March 14, 2024.
  54. ^ "Cyprus says its maritime aid corridor will utilize US-built Gaza pier". Associated Press. March 13, 2024 – via Times of Israel. Cyprus' foreign minister says a US initiative to build a pier off Gaza for large-scale aid deliveries to the territory by sea will eventually be folded into the Cyprus-Gaza maritime corridor that's currently running. Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos says although the two initiatives are now separate, all aid reaching Gaza by sea will eventually have as its single departure point the Cypriot port of Larnaca.
  55. ^ Ebrahim, Nadeen (March 15, 2024). "Aid is being shipped to Gaza by sea. But a new maritime corridor is unlikely to stop the looming famine". CNN.
  56. ^ Patil, Anushka (March 15, 2024). "First Ship Carrying Food Aid Arrives in Gaza". The New York Times.

Further reading

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