The Biden administration insists that the Gaza Strip pier will reopen this week after it was recently towed for a second time to an Israeli port so it can withstand waves more than four feet high.
“We expect operations to resume sometime this week,” said Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman. Said During a press conference on Tuesday.
But the rider The New York Times The report said the $230 million wharf had “largely failed in its mission” to expedite humanitarian aid to Gaza and was “likely to cease operations several weeks earlier than originally planned.”
of Times “Although it has been docked to the quay for a month, it has only been in use for around 10 days. For the rest of the time it has been damaged in heavy seas and is undergoing repairs, detached to avoid further damage, or mothballed due to safety concerns,” the report said.
American military personnel Said An exit that means even the modest goal of the pier is likely to be unattainable.
Responding to the report, Ryder said:
First of all, we’ve said all along that this pier is a temporary measure. We don’t have a date that we can announce for when we’ll stop operating. Of course, as I said, we look forward to getting back up and running and delivering aid very soon. And, you know, we’re going to make the most of the weather and other conditions to get as much aid out of the pier as we can.
President Joe Biden announced during his much-anticipated State of the Union address in March that he would order the U.S. military to build a temporary pier.
He said:
Tonight, I am directing the United States military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary jetty in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza coast to receive large ships loaded with food, water, medicines, and temporary shelter. No American forces will be stationed on the ground. This temporary jetty will significantly increase the amount of humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza each day.
According to sources, the soldiers and their families were only given two days’ notice before they were deployed to the Middle East in a week’s time to build and operate the pier. According to CNN, the idea for the temporary pier Considered It’s already October.
The jetty was designed to be able to transport aid to 150 trucks a day, but aid workers Times In the 10 days or so since the wharf was operational, cargo equivalent to seven trucks was transported through the wharf per day.
The pier opened on May 17, but collapsed eight days later on May 25.
Pentagon officials blamed “unforeseen” weather, but Navy experts said the pier, officially known as the Joint Land Resupply System (JLOTS), cannot handle waves greater than about 4 feet high and was never intended to be used in such conditions.
Breitbart News obtained exclusive video last week showing waves crashing into the pier moments before it collapsed.
Retrieved from Breitbart News
Retrieved from Breitbart News
The video prompted jeers and mockery of Biden and the pier from lawmakers and members of the public.
Did you use scraps from the Waterworld sets to make this?
— Let’s Theorize (@LetsTheorize) June 14, 2024
After the pier broke apart, it was detached from Gaza and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod for repairs. It was reattached to Gaza and resumed operations about a week later, but weather halted operations about a day later. It was then detached again due to weather and towed to Ashdod.
of Times “Military authorities have warned aid groups that the project could be dismantled as early as next month,” the paper reported, calling it a “glaring sign” that the pier “has not yet come under attack.”
Sources told Breitbart News that the group is targeted daily with mortars, bombs and gunfire.
After rumors spread that the pier had been used by Israeli forces in a hostage rescue mission, the World Food Programme announced it was suspending aid distribution from the pier due to concerns that the safety of its staff was at risk.
A second source told Breitbart News that families have been told the roughly 1,000 US troops who run the pier will end their duties in late June or July.
But Ryder said an end date has not yet been determined.
“We don’t have a firm timeline at this time for when the pier will be closed, but this was planned from the beginning as a temporary pier. At this time we don’t have a firm date for when it will be closed,” he said.
“When we have something new to announce, we will of course announce it, but for now, that’s where it is,” Ryder said.
He rejected the idea that the pier had been a failure and said £7.7 million of aid had been delivered through it. The Wall Street JournalThe amount was equivalent to several days’ worth of aid. It is unclear how much of the aid actually reached the people of Gaza, due to the difficulties in distributing it once it reaches land.
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