The US-built makeshift port off the coast of Gaza will soon be operational. The project is expensive, the logistics are complicated, but it could alleviate the plight of the Palestinians. However, there are serious concerns.
The platform rocks in the sea. At one end of it is an oblong quay: the ships that are expected soon to bring urgently needed aid to Gaza will dock there. This is clear from the photos published these days by the U.S. Central Command on the X platform.
Complex logistics
Work on the makeshift American port is almost complete. It sits a few miles off the coast of Gaza and is guarded by about 1,000 armed US troops - and they are part of a complex logistics program to feed the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid, which totals at least $320 million.< /p>
The platform will only be the first stop for the ships that will bring aid from the ports of Cyprus. It was built further into the sea, as the sea coast along Gaza is too shallow. The aid will be unloaded from the ships at this platform and transferred to trucks. They will board small warships to take them to the two-lane pontoon highway built south of Gaza City. There, the trucks will be unloaded and then pass through the delivery zone guarded by the Israeli military.
All this complex organization could bring the civilian population of the Gaza Strip vital aid. At first, 90 trucks a day are expected to enter Gaza, and later the number will increase to 150.
Discussions of the pros and cons of the project
In the US, however, this project also faces criticism, and not because of its high price. There is already a functioning deepwater port in Ashdod, and it is only 30 kilometers from Gaza. The logistics of moving aid through it will be much easier and cheaper. Instead, Biden is sending his military to work on an extremely complex and expensive operation, says the military expert at the Quincy Institute for Foreign Policy. Daniel Davis.
He notes that the US has not done enough to persuade Israel to allow the port of Ashdod and the Eretz checkpoint to be used to send aid to Gaza. In fact, several tons of humanitarian aid were blocked in Ashdod for months because the Israeli government refused to cooperate with the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees. The reason is that Israel accuses the agency of ties to Hamas.
There are also concerns that US soldiers could be involved in hostilities. US President Joe Biden categorically denies ever "setting an American foot in Gaza". However, some 1,000 US troops will now be permanently within gun range of those ashore in the Gaza Strip. US Secretary of War Lloyd Austin does not deny the possibility that US soldiers will be attacked.
The US military presence near the Gaza Strip is also causing discomfort among the Palestinians, who are already expressing concerns that Washington may be planning to join the war on the side of Israel. There was even speculation that the offshore platform would be used to exploit a gas field off the coast of Gaza, and the humanitarian aid was just a cover. Although there is no reliable evidence for this, it clearly shows how strong the mistrust of the port project is on the Palestinian side.
Who will distribute the aid?
Jeremy Conidik pointed out another problem back in March of this year. "Who will distribute the aid?" asked the president of the humanitarian organization Refugees International to the British edition "Guardian". The presence of humanitarian organizations in the northern part of the Gaza Strip was "reduced almost to zero". The sea corridor would help only to a limited extent, rather it would shift the distribution problem from the borders of the Gaza Strip to the interior of the country. The northern part of Gaza is completely destroyed and public order has totally collapsed.
Only on Thursday did the US government accuse the radical Islamist group Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by Germany, the EU, the US and other countries, of intercepting and diverting large-scale aid deliveries to northern Gaza for the first time. Meanwhile, the goods have been handed back to the humanitarian organization. However, the incident shows how volatile the situation on the ground still is. Because of this, international aid organizations have already expressed serious concerns about the safety of their personnel. They are still negotiating with the warring parties.