American-Built Port for Aid in Gaza Heavily Damaged, Forced to Be Removed as Brutal Conditions Get Worse
President Joe Biden’s $320 million gesture to Hamas is a washout.
The temporary pier built off the Gaza coast is being taken to the repair shop after it was not able to handle the weather, the Pentagon said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
“Unfortunately, we had a perfect storm of high sea states, and then, as I mentioned, this North African weather system also came in at the same time, creating not an optimal environment to operate,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said, according to The New York Times.
The pier will now be the project of Army engineers, who will put the pier back together.
BREAKING: AMERICAN GAZA PORT SINKING
GAZA: Netzerim Beach: Reports are coming in that the American pier in Gaza is sinking. pic.twitter.com/oJCGjD6OdE
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 27, 2024
“From when it was operational, it was working, and we just had sort of an unfortunate confluence of weather storms that made it inoperable for a bit,” Singh said, according to AP. “Hopefully just a little over a week, we should be back up and running.”
Repairs will be made in the Israeli community of Ashdod
Singh said that the service member who was seriously injured last week remains in critical condition.
NEW: US officials just revealed that they have temporarily halted Gaza deliveries after their newly-built pier has sunk.
Joe Biden took $320 million of our money to build them a floating pier… only for it to sink within days. pic.twitter.com/krNWYW77PE
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 28, 2024
On Saturday, parts of the pier washed away after rough seas struck, leading four vessels to be beached.
Even when operational, the pier had not met U.S. goals for delivering aid, with some of the aid that was delivered being looted by Palestinians.
Even before the pier was hauled off, Republican Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida said the project was not worth the cost and risk, according to Fox News.
The 12-day life of Biden’s $320 million pier:
May 17: “Aid flows into Gaza over massive U.S. pier”
May 21: “None of the aid from U.S. pier has been delivered”
May 25: Pier damaged but “still functional”
TODAY: “Pier operations suspended after piece breaks off” pic.twitter.com/LIROYAxZOy
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) May 28, 2024
“At the end of the day, it’s unnecessarily putting our people in harm’s way. It’s costing a lot. It’s pulling assets that should be used elsewhere, and I just don’t think it’s going to accomplish anything near what he’s promised,” he said.
“We’ve been briefed that two Navy destroyers are assigned to patrol the waters around the pier. Are those being included in their sustained fuel operating costs? The cost of their crew? That’s unclear … and then there’s opportunity cost, right? Those destroyers and other assets, air assets or what have you, are being dedicated to secure this thing from any type of drone or land attack that could be rested and refit in the U.S. and could be used elsewhere.”
Waltz said the issue has never been getting aid to Gaza, but remains getting to places within Gaza where it is needed.
“It’s going to run into the exact same problems the land routes have faced once it gets across the border,” Waltz said. “The trucks get ransacked. They get attacked. When they do make it to the warehouse, it’s Hamas controlling the warehouses.”
Waltz said the mission is not as simple as it sounds.
“Just getting the amount of material out there in what is often a rough sea state, in a very difficult environment, has been a problem,” he explained. “Then, I think we just have this false notion of no boots on the ground coming from Biden and the administration.”
“I mean, technically, there’s no boots touching sand, but they’re on a dock that’s touching the sand, and we confirmed at a hearing they’re very close to shore. They are within small arms range of any militants that want to fire on them from Gaza, much less the types of drones or missiles that we’ve seen in the Red Sea.”
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