Three U.S. military personnel have been injured while supporting the US Army over-the-shore logistic operations on the Gaza Coast. One service member is in critical health and was medevaced by helicopter to an Israeli hospital. The injured servicemember had been aboard the Navy-owned MV Benavidez roll-on/roll-off vessel when he was evacuated. The two other servicemembers have returned to their duties.
Joe Biden revealed the new pier on 7 March to an astonished nation.
It took small US Army ships until the 26th of April to reach Gaza, as the US Navy does not have heavy-lift vessels stationed along the East Coast. Construction of the pier took an additional twenty days.
Biden promised that “no soldiers on the ground” but at least once, mortars were fired on the pier.
The US has put the C-RAM defense system on the port in Gaza pic.twitter.com/E8WG5kwK5F
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) May 22, 2024
The US has deployed a counter-rocket artillery and mortar system (C-RAM), near the pier.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder expressed doubts that any of the aid delivered to the new U.S. floating pier has actually reached the people in Gaza.
The floating pier reportedly cost around $320 million to build. pic.twitter.com/e3BDqYuNUl
— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) May 22, 2024
It is no surprise that the dock operations are suboptimal.
The Pentagon’s Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder informed reporters on Tuesday that over 569 metric tonnes of aid were delivered via the pier. This was called the Joint Logistics Over-the Shore operation (JLOTS), but it didn’t appear that anything had actually reached the hungry residents of Gaza.
