A US military ship carrying equipment intended to build a temporary jetty off the coast of Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies – and circumvent Israeli obstruction of aid operations as it continues to pound the Gaza Strip – has left the States -United.
General Frank S. Besson left his base in the United States on Sunday, a little more than a day after US President Joe Biden’s announcement, “taking the first equipment to establish a temporary dock to deliver vital humanitarian supplies” , the military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
While the United States ostensibly aims to alleviate the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Biden continues to endorse arms sales to Israel as the latter continues its assault.
Since the attack by the Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups on Israeli civilians and communities on October 7, the United States has approved 100 arms sales to Israel to wage its retaliatory war in Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 people – mostly women and children. .
Last month, the United States was preparing to supply Israel with approximately 1,000 500-pound (227 kg) MK-82 bombs and 1,000 KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) that transform unguided munitions into precision-guided bombs.
The United States has also twice circumvented congressional approval to expedite arms shipments to Israel, even as Israel faces charges of possibly committing genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). ).
Israel is refusing to facilitate the delivery of vital food aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza and has been accused of shooting at people seeking aid. The solution proposed by the United States was to plan a pier off the coast of Gaza.
“If the United States was serious (about providing aid), it would have pressured Israel to open land crossings and allow aid and relief to arrive while stopping the attack. We have not heard Biden call for an end to the war or even a ceasefire,” Mohammed al-Masri of the Palestinian Center for Research and Strategic Studies told Tel Aviv Tribune.
On March 9, 2024, United States Army Vessel (USAV) Gen. Frank S. Besson (LSV-1), 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed the Langley-Eustis joint base en route to the Eastern Mediterranean less than 36 hours away… pic.twitter.com/X70uttuY9J
– US Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 10, 2024
Biden said in his State of the Union address Thursday that he was ordering the military to set up a dock off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter, as Gaza has no functioning port infrastructure.
Construction of the pier and the causeway connecting it to land will take up to 60 days and require about 1,000 U.S. troops, Pentagon press secretary Patrick Ryder said Friday. The soldiers will stay offshore.
The announcement follows United Nations warnings of widespread famine among Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, five months after the launch of the Israeli offensive.
The United States is considering using Cyprus, which has proposed a goods screening process that would include Israeli officials, removing the need for security checks in Gaza.
“What is important for the Palestinians is that Biden puts pressure on Israel, because it is a partner in the ongoing war. What pushed him to create this port is his precarious standing among American voters and opinion polls showing he is on shaky ground with minorities,” Al-Masri said.
Land crossings remain the best option
Separately, a ship carrying 200 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza was preparing to leave Cyprus along a maritime corridor that the European Union hopes to open by Sunday.
Sigrid Kaag, the top U.N. humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, said air and sea deliveries would not make up for the lack of land supply routes.
Avril Benoit, executive director of the US branch of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said the US plan is a “blatant distraction from the real problem: Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punitive siege “.
Existing land crossings are faster, safer and more economical than the sea route or airdrop aids.
Aid groups estimate that at least 1,300 trucks of humanitarian supplies are needed daily in Gaza.
Israel has blamed the hunger crisis on UN agencies, saying they are failing to distribute supplies piling up at Gaza border crossings.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the largest UN agency in Gaza, says Israel restricts goods and imposes onerous inspections that slow entry .
Al-Masri said many questions remain regarding the creation of the port.
“If Israel invades Rafah and the border crossing is closed, will this port become an exit point for Palestinians? Who will ensure the security of the humanitarian aid transported to the port and who will ensure the actual distribution? Who will manage this major relief operation? He asked.
Al-Masri noted that Israeli forces had previously attacked police in Gaza as they attempted to distribute relief supplies. “And they won’t allow the Palestinian Authority to play a role, so who will it be?
Since 1967, Israel has exercised total control over Gaza’s coastline and territorial waters, preventing ships from reaching the strip.
Since 2007, Israel has closed almost all of Gaza’s border crossings and its port is under Israeli naval blockade, making it the only seaport in the Mediterranean closed to shipping.
