The Gaza floating port consists of a platform at sea designated to receive large ships and a pier installed on the beach. It was implemented according to a decision by the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and its cost amounted to about 320 million dollars.
The port officially began operating on Friday, May 17, 2024, about two months after the start of the construction process undertaken by the US Army. It aims to deliver humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip under Israel’s control.
But its coincidence with the provision of weapons and ammunition to the Israeli army, which is waging a war on the Gaza Strip, raised questions about whether the United States had other undeclared goals for establishing it, especially in light of the Israeli welcome.
A decision from Biden
In the first days of March 2024, Biden announced a project to build a floating port off the coast of Gaza, and said that its aim was to deliver aid by sea to the besieged residents of the Strip.
Biden’s announcement of his decision coincided with the passage of about 5 months of war in the Gaza Strip, and international warnings of the danger of famine, due to what international organizations said were “enormous obstacles” preventing the delivery of relief supplies and their distribution throughout the Strip.
Only about 36 hours after Biden announced in his annual speech to the US Congress that he had ordered the army to build the port, the US Army’s “General Frank S. Beeson” logistical support ship left a naval base in the state of Virginia towards the eastern Mediterranean to participate in the mission. .
According to statements made by American officials to the media, the United States coordinated the establishment of the project with Israel, the United Nations, and relief agencies, and also conveyed messages to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) of its importance.
reactions
Commenting on Biden’s decision, the Hamas movement affirmed the right of the Palestinian people to receive the aid they need, but considered that the floating port is not an alternative to opening land crossings, and stressed the rejection of any military presence of any force on Palestinian land.
While Israel blessed the American move and confirmed that the establishment of the floating port in the Gaza Strip was being coordinated between the two parties, the United Nations, through its spokesman Stephane Dujarric, considered that delivering aid by land was more effective in terms of cost and quantity.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, also criticized Biden’s proposal, pointing out the contradiction in the position of the United States of America, which on the other hand provides weapons, ammunition, and financial support to Israel to bomb the residents of Gaza.
Floating port components
The process of building the Gaza floating port required the help of more than a thousand American soldiers, took about two months, and cost about $320 million. The port consists of two parts:
- A double-lane bridge located on the beach. It was installed by the US Army and then transported to the port of Ashdod and from there to the shores of Gaza. It was installed on a dirt sidewalk made of the rubble of homes destroyed by the Israeli war.
- A platform at sea, about 3 miles from the coast of the Gaza Strip. It is 270 feet long and 72 feet wide. It is designated for receiving and unloading the cargo of large ships that cannot reach the shallow waters near the shore.
From the platform located on the high seas, the ships’ cargo is transported by ferries to the bridge fixed on the shore, and then transported by trucks to the distribution points inside the Gaza Strip.
Coordination with Cyprus
The components of the floating port form links within a sea corridor that departs from the island of Cyprus towards the Gaza coast, where aid directed to the Gaza Strip is shipped on ships departing from the Larnaca seaport in Cyprus.
An Israeli committee inspects the ship’s cargo in Larnaca port before transporting it towards Gaza. It is also subject to Israeli inspection on the ground, as is the case with aid coming via land.
Coordination cells supervise the process of transporting and distributing aid, and include, in addition to Israel and the United States, Cyprus, the United Nations, and humanitarian organizations.
startup
On Friday, May 17, 2024, the United States officially announced the start of operation of the Gaza Public Port.
The first load of humanitarian aid was unloaded at the port, weighing approximately 300 tons, and transported in dozens of trucks to United Nations warehouses in Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip.
