US Army/AP
In this image provided by the U.S. Army, Soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) and Sailors attached to the M/V Roy P. Benavidez assemble the Roll-On, Roll-Off Distribution Facility (RRDF) , or floating pier, off the coast of Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea, April 26, 2024. The pier is part of the Army’s Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) system that provides critical bridging and access capabilities to the water.
CNN
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Desperately needed humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza will remain for at least the next few days off the coast of Gaza on a US Navy cargo ship, as the United States continues to face obstacles in implementing and operationalize the floating jetty they built. the eastern Mediterranean.
The pier and causeway, known as Joint Logistics Over the Shore or JLOTS, will ultimately be used by the United States, its allies and humanitarian groups to deliver aid to Gaza by sea from Cyprus. But the system had to be moved to Ashdod port last week due to heavy seas, and it still hasn’t left.
Even when JLOTS becomes operational, weather and sea conditions could significantly limit the ability to use the floating pier.
It can only be used safely in conditions characterized by maximum waves of 3 feet and winds less than about 15 miles per hour, according to a 2006 Naval War College article on the system’s limitations. A forecast of sea conditions from Israel’s Marine Data Center shows that waves are often at or near that 3-foot limit in the area.
“JLOTS operations, which must consider both safety and throughput requirements, must often wait for favorable weather and sea conditions,” the authors write.
A defense official confirmed to CNN that the limitations of the pier system are accurate.
“Ultimately, rough seas have an effect on the ability to execute the JLOTS mission,” the official said. If the winds or waves are stronger, loading and unloading via the JLOTS pier becomes dangerous.
Another factor that could complicate the situation is how Israel decides to continue its operation in Rafah in southern Gaza, U.S. officials said. A major Israeli offensive could raise additional security concerns and impact when the pier and causeway are built in the Eastern Mediterranean. The planned transit area for aid once it arrives in Gaza has been hit by mortar and rocket fire at least twice in recent weeks, CNN reported.
The United States still aims to get the system up and running “in the coming days,” a Pentagon spokesperson told CNN on Thursday. For now, a massive barge called the M/V Sagamore, which will be used to deliver the first pallets of humanitarian aid from Cyprus to the dock, has begun moving supplies to another ship currently off the coast of Gaza, called the M /V. Roy P. Benavidez.
The Benavidez, hired by the US military, has been in the eastern Mediterranean since last month to support the maritime corridor effort.
The United States is also working to finalize plans for who will actually transport the humanitarian aid from the dock to the Gaza shore, according to several U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
The UK had initially offered to provide personnel to help drive the aid trucks from the US military-built causeway off Gaza to the shore, where they would be collected by supervised UN personnel. by the World Food Program, officials said. But the British recently withdrew the offer due to security concerns, the sources said.
The United States, meanwhile, has ruled out using its own troops to deliver aid to the beach because the Biden administration does not want American personnel getting that close to Gaza, said those responsible.
A British government spokesperson said the UK “is not currently considering deploying armed forces personnel to Gaza soil as part of this initiative, but we are working closely with the United States , Cyprus and other allies to ensure aid can be delivered quickly. the pier once it is fully installed.
Another diplomatic source close to the discussions confirmed there had been conversations in which the UK had offered to take the aid down the causeway to the pier, as part of “a series of plans emergency” which had been developed.
“But at the moment there are no plans for the UK to be involved in this way,” the source added. “The most likely scenario is that a third party is still undecided.”
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Thursday that “non-U.S. civilian contractors would drive these vehicles down the causeway to the beach.”
One plan under discussion would have Israeli contractors transport the aid, the officials and another source familiar with the matter told CNN. But that could also change and is not finalized, although the Pentagon predicted the pier would be operational in the coming days.
The Israel Defense Forces agreed to provide a large security perimeter around the pier system and the aid operation. This has made some humanitarian groups and U.N. officials uncomfortable given the Israeli military’s habit of targeting humanitarian convoys and the perception that they work under the control of the Israeli military, previously reported. reported CNN. But the plan is for the IDF to remain at a relative distance while the aid is transported and unloaded on the Gaza beach, officials told CNN.
News Source : amp.cnn.com
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