The US pier in Gaza, designed to deliver aid to
Palestinians facing food, water and medical shortages, was only operational
for 12 days before it ripped apart.
How did this pier project go so wrong?
In President Biden's State of the Union address in March,
he announced the US would build the temporary pier off
the Gaza Strip.
Israel's siege of Gaza had severely limited the amount of
aid getting in, and humanitarian groups said millions of civilians
were on the verge of famine.
Tonight I'm directing the US military to lead an emergency
mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on
the coast of Gaza.
No US boots will be on the ground.
Even early on, the pier was plagued by problems.
It was supposed to take up to 60 days to
build and involve more than 1000 American troops.
But a string of building delays due to bad weather
slowed the timeline.
Construction began on April 25th.
ABC News reported the project would top $180 million, but
within a few days, US defense officials said the cost
to build and operate it for just the 1st 90
days had risen to 320 million.
By May 16th, construction was completed.
The pier was anchored to Gaza.
Trucks soon began delivering aid to a holding area inside
the strip, but the Pentagon said four days later that
no aid had yet reached Palestinians because of safety and
security concerns, citing looting.
Aid agencies suspended deliveries soon after high waves ripped apart
sections of the pier.
Four U.S.
military vessels, some with soldiers still inside, washed ashore, according
to the Pentagon.
One US service member was critically injured.
By May 28th, the Pentagon said the pier was being
removed for at least a week.
Look, I can't predict the weather, but we believe that
given the time of year we will be able to
re anchor this pier and it will be able to
be operational and hopefully weather conditions won't hinder it anymore.
Before the pier, the Pentagon tried parachuting supplies into the
strip, but some of the aid killed and injured Gazans
as parachutes failed to open.
Aid groups have said there is no substitute for delivering
the aid by land.
Even before the war, Israel and Egypt closely controlled supplies
entering the enclave.
Gazans relied on about 500 trucks each day.
After the war erupted on October 7th following Hamas LED
attack on Israel, far fewer trucks have entered Gaza, falling
to single digits on some days, largely due to Israeli
restrictions.
Israel's recent seizure of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the
main entry point for aid, has paralyzed aid efforts.
As of June 4th, the Gaza pier was expected to
be operational again soon, according to the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, millions of Gazans face food, water, fuel and medicine
shortages.
The World Food Program has warned that northern Gaza is
in the midst of a full blown famine and it's
spreading to the South.