The temporary piers, installed under President Biden’s orders, have gone way over budget and have caused some problems since USAID began delivering them, leading some lawmakers to question the value of the undertaking.
“At the end of the day, this is putting the American people at unnecessary risk. It’s costing a lot of money. It’s taking away assets that could be used elsewhere, and I don’t think it’s going to accomplish anything close to what the president has promised,” Rep. Michael Walz (R-Fla.) said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
President Biden in his State of the Union address in March, As Israel continues to pursue Hamas, it has pledged to set up a temporary pier in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip to increase humanitarian supplies to the Strip, where millions remain displaced.
The Pentagon announced the completion of the piers, one of which will remain several miles offshore and the other will serve as a causeway to the Gaza coast. The piers were completed around May 9, but faced difficulties during their deployment the following week.
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Walz said the project could cost more than $300 million in total, with some reports putting the figure at $320 million, double earlier estimates, said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi. He told Reuters.He called the operation a “risky endeavor with little potential return.”
This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the 1st Amphibious Construction Battalion, and the Israel Defense Forces installing a Trident pier on the coast of the Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (U.S. Central Command via The Associated Press)
Waltz noted that the estimated costs only apply to the first few months of operation, and said, “the longer we’re in operation, the costs will skyrocket.”
“We’ve been informed that two Navy destroyers are on duty patrolling the waters around the pier,” Waltz said, citing an example. “Are those costs included in the cost of fuel for the destroyers? What about the cost of the crew? It’s unclear… And there’s also the opportunity cost, right? The destroyers and other assets, aviation assets, they’re being brought in to defend this facility against any kind of drone or ground attack that could be rested and refitted here in the United States and used elsewhere.”
A U.S. Army Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) ran aground while attempting to salvage a portion of a temporary pier that had been damaged during the en route. (Fox News)
Waltz said the main issue is not about deliveries outside of Gaza, but what happens after the aid is delivered across the border, at which point it faces the same problems as deliveries overland.
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“Once they cross the border, they face exactly the same problems they faced on the road route,” Waltz said. “Trucks are vandalized, they are attacked. Even if they get to the warehouses, they’re controlled by Hamas.”
“Whether the trucks come by sea or by land, once they enter the country they face the same problems, and in the end it’s the Palestinians who suffer – poor Palestinian people and children,” Waltz continued.
“Because it is corrupt and run by a terrorist dictatorship that uses aid money, first and foremost, for itself – food, weapons, resource supplies, nutrients, medicines, fuel,” he added. “Secondly, it uses aid money as a means to keep Palestinians from revolting.”
Since cargo shipments began at the wharf last week, traffic has not reached the desired levels. Trucks began entering the Gaza Strip on May 17, with plans to ramp up to 150 vehicles a day, but the wharf has been facing problems, including damage to one of the wharves on Saturday when the army tried to move it, citing “sea conditions.”
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Looters steal aid supplies from a truck. Majdi Fathi/TPS-IL (Majidi Fathi/TPS-IL)
The attempted move, which took place late on Friday night, caused part of the pier to break free from its ropes and wash ashore. A U.S. Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) tried to free it, but the cable got wrapped around its propeller and it became stuck, causing another unforeseen loss.
U.S. Army and Navy forces worked with Israeli forces throughout the day to free the equipment, U.S. defense officials said.
“Construction underway for Mediterranean floating JLOTS pier,” CENTCOM tweeted. (Photo: CENTCOM) (Central Army)
Waltz cited a host of other issues that have plagued the operation, from logistical problems to weather disturbances and security threats.
“Just getting large amounts of supplies there in very difficult conditions, often with rough seas, was a problem in itself,” Waltz explained. “And I think Biden and his administration just have a false sense of perception that they’re not sending ground troops.”
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“Technically, their boots aren’t touching the sand, but they’re on a pier that’s on the sand, and the hearing confirmed that they’re very close to shore,” he continued. “They’re within range of small arms fire from militants who want to fire on them from Gaza, let alone the types of drones and missiles that we’ve seen in the Red Sea.”
“We know that the pier and the entire facility have already come under mortar attack. Again, this is unnecessarily putting our service members at risk,” he stressed.
“This pier will help @USAID and humanitarian partners receive and deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. @USTRANSCOM and @USEUCOM support the #humanitarianaid campaign,” CENTCOM tweeted on X. (Photo: CENTCOM) (Central Army)
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters on Tuesday that crowds had stopped the trucks at various points along the route after they reached land, setting up a sort of “voluntary distribution” of supplies.
“These trucks were going through areas where there was no aid. I think people were scared they wouldn’t get help. They took what they could get,” Dujarric said. According to Newsweek:.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder also commented earlier this week that “aid is not flowing at a pace that any of us would be happy with.”
Ultimately, Waltz argued, the evidence proved that the pier was a project initiated for “purely political reasons.”
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“When you have over 100,000 Democrats in Michigan and over 100,000 of them voting against him in the Democratic primary, it’s a very scary political moment for the White House,” Walz said.
“Since then, there has been a shift in policy towards Israel, from Schumer’s calls for power change in the Senate to his condemnation of Netanyahu to his promise to change policy if Israel carries out the attack in Rafah. All of these were signals to the young voter,” Waltz added.
During an official conference call on Thursday, defense officials confirmed to reporters that three U.S. soldiers had been wounded while assisting humanitarian efforts in providing aid to Gaza residents. All were unrelated to the fighting, with one listed as critical.
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at the time of publication.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
