US Army’s Failure-Prone Pier Connected To Gaza Beach Again After Breaking Apart

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced its temporary pier for Gaza, which has been out of commission for a couple of weeks after it was broken apart by choppy Mediterranean seas, has been fully reestablished and is operational.

“At approximately 2:15 pm (local Gaza time) on June 7, US Central Command (CENTCOM) successfully reestablished the temporary pier in Gaza, enabling the continued delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted to X. Watch the pier make landing on the beach again: 

U.S. Army’s floating pier returns to the shores of Gaza after breaking up. pic.twitter.com/c6ZjjkpbQi

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 7, 2024

“In coming days, CENTCOM will facilitate the movement of vital food and other emergency supplies, in support of the US Agency for International Development,” the statement continued.

The Washington Post on Thursday revealed that the cost of repairs for the pier after sections of it broke off and washed ashore in southern Israel stands at $22 million.

Initially the total cost of Biden’s controversial humanitarian pier project stood at $320 million. From the start it has received bad press both in the US and internationally, a trend which has only continued given the project’s persistent problems. The controversy chiefly lies in that Israel is simultaneously blocking easier to use land routes for aid into Gaza.

But American taxpayers have also questioned the need for the pier, at a time it continues to prove ineffective in the high winds and waves of the eastern Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, Pentagon has still sought to provide ‘assurances’: 

The Pentagon said this week that the project’s overall cost has been downgraded, from an initial estimate of $320 million to about $230 million now. Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman, told reporters Wednesday that the savings were realized through lower-than-expected expenses for contracted vehicles and drivers, and Britain’s contribution of a military vessel to house the U.S. troops involved in the operation.

This price downgrade is unlikely to be of much comfort to the American taxpayer. Below is a brief review of all the setbacks of late:

Despite only being operational for a short time, the pier has already faced a number of setbacks. Last week, deliveries had to be stopped for two days after crowds rushed to aid trucks coming off the pier, leading to one Palestinian man being shot dead.

Following the incident, the US military said it was charting a safer route to deliver aid. US Central Command also said last week that four army vessels had broken free from the pier, with two arriving in Gaza and the other two washing up on the coast.

According to a UN World Food Programme spokesperson, since the pier was set up, the UN has transported 137 trucks of aid, the equivalent of 900 metric tonnes.

Via Reuters

There also remains the obvious dark irony and contradiction of the US supplying the very bombs still being used on Gaza amid a massive military campaign that’s driving the humanitarian crisis, while simultaneously trying to ‘solve’ or alleviate the catastrophe through an ambitious project already plagued by failure.