American forces will remove and bring back the dock they constructed to transport humanitarian supplies to Gaza.
The US Military officially announced on July 17 that it was abandoning efforts to save the doomed floating pier project, which was to provide vital humanitarian aid to Palestinian residents in the Gaza Strip.
A mission beset by near-constant delays, such as poor weather and maintenance issues, has finally come to a close, according to the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, who announced the decision. The high-profile initiative cost the Biden administration $230 million, and critics quickly pointed out that the government had done nothing to justify the expenditure.
The floating pier was ordered to be built by President Biden in March, according to the Defense Department. Residents of Gaza, according to the UN and other international organizations, were verging on starvation.
The floating pier was completed in May. Despite its sporadic functioning, it allowed for the conveyance of approximately 20 million lbs of humanitarian material, according to Cooper. The military has never before sent such a large amount of humanitarian aid to the Middle East.
The Pentagon’s optimistic evaluation was not being embraced by many.
According to Senate Armed Services Committee top Republican Roger F. Wicker of Mississippi, the Gaza pier was a “national embarrassment,” and Wicker expressed his relief that the Pentagon had finally terminated it.
President Biden wasn’t very thrilled with the Gaza pier’s final success, despite the bullishness of top military officers. His recent public admission that the operation fell short of his expectations is noteworthy.
Wicker said the US needlessly spent $230 million, and he vowed to probe the project done by the Biden administration.
The dock was a mess from start to finish, according to Refugees International.
Security concerns were heightened by the presence of Israeli troops at the distribution site, the uncooperative weather, and the shallow sea around the port.
The pier didn’t open to the public for more than twenty-five days after its May 16 installation. Because of security concerns over the Hamas terror group, aid organizations only utilized it around half of the time.
