Army engineers have begun construction of a floating pier and causeway off the coast of Gaza to aid in delivering humanitarian aid to the enclave’s residents. The project, ordered by President Biden, is expected to be completed early next month and will allow relief workers to deliver up to two million meals a day.
The construction of the temporary pier and causeway at sea is in line with Pentagon officials’ predictions, according to Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Defense Department’s press secretary. The facility will include an offshore platform to transfer aid from ships and a floating pier to bring the aid to shore, bypassing Israeli restrictions on land convoys into Gaza.
While aid organizations have welcomed the plan, some U.S. military officials have expressed security concerns about the project, particularly after a recent mortar attack in the area where the pier work is being done. However, General Ryder stated that U.S. forces had not yet started moving anything into the area at the time of the attack.
The United Nations has warned of a potential famine in Gaza by the end of May, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian aid. The floating pier is being built alongside an Army ship off the Gaza coast, with armed escorts to ensure security as they approach Gaza’s coast.
The Pentagon’s military acronym for the project is J-Lots, for Joint Logistics Over the Shore, and officials detailed a complex plan for aid deliveries through the floating pier without putting American boots on the ground in Gaza. Aid will be loaded onto Navy ships in Cyprus and transported to the causeway at sea, where it will be offloaded into Gaza.
Israel has dedicated a brigade to provide security for American troops and aid workers working on the pier, and the operation is expected to bring in enough aid for around 90 trucks a day initially, increasing to 150 trucks a day at full operating capacity. The causeway at sea will be anchored to the Gaza shore by an engineering unit with the Israeli military, and shuttle boats run by aid organizations will transport the aid to the floating pier for distribution.
