The United States has begun construction of a temporary pier at sea to help deliver humanitarian aid to the starving population in Gaza. The US military vessels, including the USNS Benavidez, have started constructing the initial stages of the pier and causeway to enable the delivery of up to 150 trucks of aid per day. The mission is expected to start in early May, with the IDF partnering with the US military to anchor the causeway to the shore in Gaza without any US boots on the ground in Gaza.
A US Army engineering unit has been training an IDF engineering unit to anchor the causeway to the shore, with the IDF providing a security perimeter on the ground in Gaza for aid offloading. US troops operating the system, known as Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS), will be stationed at a safe distance from the Gaza beach to maximize force protection from potential rocket or missile attacks. The construction of the pier aims to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the entire population is facing acute food insecurity, with significant increases expected without intervention.
USAID will work with the UN to distribute the aid once it reaches Gaza, with commercial vessels carrying aid from Cyprus to a large floating pier anchored off the coast of Gaza. Smaller Army boats will shuttle the aid to the causeway anchored to the shore, where trucks from a partner country will transport the aid to a secure distribution point. Command and control cells have been established in Cyprus and Israel to facilitate the aid delivery process and avoid bottlenecks in inspections.
The complex US role in the aid delivery effort involves the military carrying out a high-stakes construction mission in a warzone, while diplomats help organize the dangerous and politicized aid distribution operation. The US military is expected to operate the pier for at least the next three months, with plans to eventually transition it into a commercial operation for use by other countries and non-governmental organizations full time. The ultimate goal is to provide much-needed humanitarian aid to the starving population in Gaza and alleviate the dire food insecurity facing the region.
