Biden pushed Gaza pier over warnings it would undercut other aid routes, watchdog says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden ordered the construction of a temporary pier to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza earlier this year, while some U.S. Agency for International Development officials expressed concerns that the effort would be difficult to implement and would undermine efforts to convince Israel to open “more efficient” land crossings to get food into the area, according to a report by USAID’s inspector general released Tuesday.
Biden announced plans in his State of the Union address in March to use the temporary pier to speed the delivery of aid to the area besieged by the Palestinian state. war between Israel and Hamas.
But the $230 million military-run project, known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore System, or JLOTS, was only supposed to operate for about 20 days. Aid agencies pulled out of the project in July, ending a mission plagued by repeated weather and safety issues which limited the amount of food and other emergency supplies that could reach starving Palestinians.
“Several USAID officials expressed concerns that the focus on the use of JLOTS would undermine the agency’s advocacy for opening land crossings, which were seen as more efficient and proven methods for transporting aid into Gaza,” the inspector general’s report said. “However, when the President issued the directive, the agency’s focus was on using JLOTS as effectively as possible.”
When Biden announced plans for the floating pier, the United Nations reported that nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents were struggling to access food and that more than half a million people were trapped in Gaza. faced with famine.
The Biden administration has set a goal to American Sea Route and Pier providing enough food to feed 1.5 million people in Gaza for 90 days. It was not enough to feed about 450,000 people for a month before it was shut down.
High waves and bad weather repeatedly damaged the pier, and the UN World Food Programme ended its partnership with the project after an Israeli rescue operation used a nearby area to extract hostages, raising concerns about whether the workers would survive. seen as neutral and independent in the conflict.
US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said Tuesday that the project had had âreal impactâ in delivering food to hungry Palestinian civilians, despite the obstacles.
âThe bottom line is that, given the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the United States has left no stone unturned in our efforts to secure more aid, and the pier played a key role at a critical time in achieving that goal,â Savett said in a statement.
The watchdog’s report also said the United States had failed to honor agreements with the World Food Program, which wanted the UN agency to approve the distribution of goods from the pier to the Palestinians.
The US agreed to WFPâs conditions, including that the pier be located in northern Gaza, where aid was needed most, and that a UN member state would provide security for the pier. The move was intended to protect WFPâs neutrality among the warring parties in Gaza, the watchdogâs report said.
Instead, the Pentagon placed the pier in central Gaza. WFP officials told the USAID watchdog that they understood the U.S. military chose that location because it offered better security for the pier and the military itself.
Ultimately, the Israeli military provided the security after the U.S. military could not find a neutral country willing to take on the task, the watchdog report said.
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AP journalist Aamer Madhani contributed from Washington.