
Earlier this year, President Joe Biden directed the construction of a temporary pier to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. This decision was made despite concerns from some U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) staff members, who worried that the project would be challenging to implement and might undermine efforts to convince Israel to open “more efficient” land crossings for food supplies into the region, according to a report released by USAID’s inspector general on Tuesday, the AP reports.
In his State of the Union address in March, Biden unveiled plans for the temporary pier, aimed at accelerating the flow of aid to the Palestinian territory, which has been severely impacted by ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The $230 million military-led initiative, called the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore system (JLOTS), was only operational for approximately 20 days. By July, aid organizations had withdrawn from the effort, citing persistent weather and security issues that hindered the delivery of food and emergency supplies to the starving population in Gaza.
“Multiple USAID staff expressed concerns that the focus on using JLOTS would detract from the Agency’s advocacy for opening land crossings, which were seen as more efficient and proven methods of transporting aid into Gaza,” the inspector general’s report noted. “However, once the President issued the directive, the Agency’s focus was to use JLOTS as effectively as possible.”
At the time Biden announced the floating pier plan, the United Nations reported that nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents were struggling to access food, with more than 500,000 people facing severe hunger.
The Biden administration aimed for the sea route and pier to supply food to sustain 1.5 million Gazans for 90 days. However, the effort fell short, ultimately providing enough aid to feed about 450,000 people for a month before the operation was terminated.
Repeated damage from high waves and adverse weather conditions hampered the pier’s functionality, and the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) ceased its participation in the project after an Israeli rescue mission near the area raised concerns about the safety and neutrality of WFP workers.
Despite these challenges, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett stated on Tuesday that the project “had a real impact” in delivering food to Palestinians in need.
“The bottom line is that given how dire the humanitarian situation in Gaza is, the United States has left no stone unturned in our efforts to get more aid in, and the pier played a key role at a critical time in advancing that goal,” Savett said in a statement.
The inspector general’s report also accused the United States of not fulfilling promises made to the World Food Program to secure the U.N. agency’s participation in distributing supplies from the pier.
The U.S. had agreed to conditions set by the WFP, including placing the pier in northern Gaza, where the need for aid was most urgent, and ensuring that a U.N. member state would provide security for the pier to maintain WFP’s neutrality in the conflict. However, the Pentagon instead located the pier in central Gaza. According to WFP staff, the U.S. military chose this location for better security for the pier and military personnel.
Ultimately, Israel’s military provided security for the pier after the U.S. military was unable to secure a neutral country to take on the responsibility, the report stated.
A U.S. official noted that concerns from USAID staff about the potential negative impact on overall aid efforts were raised early in the planning process. In response, USAID increased staffing to manage both the pier and land routes simultaneously, according to the official, who spoke anonymously due to not being authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
{Matzav.com}