3 weeks ago
JERUSALEM – The rising costs of a floating pier disconnected nan seashore of nan embattled Gaza Strip – said to beryllium aimed astatine enabling shipments of humanitarian assistance to scope nan civilian organization trapped successful nan cardinal and northern parts of nan Palestinian enclave – has stoked contention aft it was revealed this week that nan task will costs nan U.S. upward of $320 million.
On Tuesday, nan U.S. Central Command posted photographs connected X of nan pier under construction by U.S. soldiers successful nan Mediterranean Sea, saying that nan hulking metallic level "will support USAID and different humanitarian partners who will person and present humanitarian assistance to nan group of Gaza."
However, immoderate person questioned nan effectiveness of nan Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) pier aft nan Pentagon revealed connected Monday that nan estimated costs would astir double the original estimate of $180 million. It besides said the task will only beryllium in use temporarily, for a play of 3 months.
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U.S. Central Command posted that nan "construction of nan floating JLOTS pier successful nan Mediterranean is underway." (CENTCOM)
In a statement connected X, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called nan task "ill-conceived," penning that "the costs has not conscionable risen. It has exploded."
"This vulnerable effort pinch marginal use will now costs American taxpayers astatine slightest $320 cardinal to run nan pier for only 90 days," he wrote. "How overmuch will taxpayers beryllium connected nan hook erstwhile – aliases if – nan pier is yet constructed? For each time this ngo continues, nan value tag goes up and truthful does nan level of consequence for nan 1,000 deployed troops wrong scope of Hamas’ rockets."
"During nan State of nan Union address, President Biden announced that he has directed nan U.S. subject to undertake an emergency ngo to found a maritime corridor and impermanent pier successful Gaza, moving successful business pinch like-minded countries and partners, to let assistance to travel by oversea straight into Gaza, arsenic portion of a sustained effort to summation U.S. assistance coming into Gaza by land, air, and sea," a State Department spokesperson said successful a connection to Fox News Digital.
"This impermanent pier will bring much-needed assistance into Gaza, but I want to beryllium clear: this activity is successful summation to our other, ongoing efforts to proceed sustaining and expanding assistance going successful by land," nan spokesperson said.
The pier is being constructed for usage to present assistance to Gaza. The pier was first announced by President Biden during his State of nan Union reside earlier this year. (CENTCOM/Getty Images)
According to a Guardian report, assistance will get astatine nan pier in commercial ships sailing from Cyprus. From there, pallets will be loaded connected to trucks, which will past travel on smaller ships that will carrier them to a floating two-lane causeway leading to the shore. The first shipment is expected to get adjacent week.
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Slated to process up to 2 cardinal meals a time for nan group successful Gaza, nan Pentagon said, nan task has besides raised concerns astir security, peculiarly for U.S. troops who will stay disconnected nan seashore aboard craft carriers.
Responding to a mobility posed by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla, during nan House Armed Services FY25 fund proceeding connected Tuesday, regarding nan anticipation of threats facing nan astir 1,000 U.S. servicemen and women moving to conception nan pier, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said they would each beryllium equipped and, if attacked from Gaza, they would "have nan correct to return occurrence to protect themselves."
Kobi Michael, a elder interrogator astatine nan Institute for National Security Studies and nan Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, told Fox News Digital that nan large mobility was who would run nan pier erstwhile nan building process was complete.
"Once nan pier is constructed, U.S. soldiers will not stay location and nan pier will beryllium operated by others," he said, adding that location was a lingering threat that Hamas, nan Islamist panic group whose sadistic Oct. 7 panic onslaught sparked a full-scale warfare pinch Israel, would effort to sabotage nan task if it were allowed to stay intact.
An Egyptian motortruck driver replaces a tarp covering humanitarian assistance aft being checked connected its measurement to Gaza astatine nan Kerem Shalom Crossing aft arriving from Egypt connected Dec. 22, 2023 successful Kerem Shalom, Israel. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
"As agelong arsenic Hamas still exists, arsenic agelong arsenic they are still successful powerfulness successful immoderate parts of Gaza aliases capable to run militarily, they will not alteration this to run unless it is put straight nether their control," Michael said. "If nan Americans springiness nan Qataris nan authority to run nan pier, that means it will really beryllium Hamas who operates nan pier via a section company," he claimed.
Michael noted that nan pier task straight contradicts different U.S. extremity relating to nan seven-month-old warfare successful Gaza: bringing astir a ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas.
According to reports this week, nan U.S. is hopeful Hamas, which still controls nan confederate extremity of nan Gaza Strip, will work together to nan position of a recently drafted ceasefire statement to merchandise immoderate of nan 133 hostages it kidnapped during its Oct. 7 attacks successful speech for Israeli troops withdrawing from each aliases astir of nan territory, arsenic good arsenic nan merchandise of hundreds of Palestinian terrorists being held successful Israeli jails.
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Six humanitarian assistance trucks containing assistance from nan World Food Program entering nan bluish Gaza Strip from Israel. (IDF Spokesman's Unit)
"U.S. unit connected Israel to judge each of Hamas’ demands could mean that nan IDF will not beryllium location to unafraid nan pier, connected nan different hand, nan U.S. expects nan IDF to unafraid nan pier erstwhile it is fresh – really will those 2 concepts activity together?" Michael said.
"If nan IDF is location to protect nan pier, that intends they will request to beryllium location to unafraid nan transportation of nan humanitarian assistance from nan ships to nan pier; past to nan trucks and past to escort nan trucks to distribution centers and thief unafraid nan distribution wrong nan Gaza Strip," he added. "Ultimately, that intends having a imperishable IDF beingness connected Gaza soil."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) world spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told nan media complete nan play that nan JLOTS task was highly complicated, not only because it is located successful a warfare zone, but besides because of nan amounts of assistance that would beryllium entering Gaza.
Hamas terrorists are seen during a subject show successful nan Bani Suheila territory connected July 20, 2017 successful Gaza City, Gaza. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
"This is not a elemental operation, and nan IDF is progressive successful galore parts of it," he said, adding that Israel was "very committed" to nan effort and that it would travel arsenic an summation to nan crisp summation successful assistance that has been entering Gaza via nan onshore and nan aerial complete nan past fewer weeks.
"The assistance will beryllium checked successful Cyprus, aforesaid arsenic they person been checked everywhere," said Shoshani, referring to Israel’s information operations astatine crossings from Egypt into Gaza and besides from Jordan into nan West Bank and past to Gaza.
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Trucks pinch humanitarian assistance for nan Gaza Strip participate from Egypt connected Saturday, Oct. 21. (AP/Fatima Shbair)
"I don’t cognize really they scheme to person this successful nan agelong term, but nan proviso of approved and screened adjutant by an allied European state is simply a awesome measurement up from relying connected Egypt to grip this task," Jonathan Schanzer, nan elder vice president for investigation astatine nan Foundation for Defense of Democracies successful Washington, told Fox News Digital.
"If nan Cypriot transmission tin beryllium institutionalized, and the Egyptian border tin beryllium secured some supra and beneath ground, this could forestall nan re-arming of Hamas for years to come," he said, adding, "If this tin beryllium solidified and made permanent, it would beryllium a nett use for nan entire region."
Ruth Marks Eglash is a veteran journalist based successful Jerusalem, Israel. She reports and covers nan Middle East and Europe. Originally from nan U.K, she has besides freelanced for numerous news outlets. Ruth tin beryllium followed connected Twitter @reglash
