Logistics Over-the-Shore [LOTS] - Gaza 2024
The Defense Planning Guidance included requirements for Sea State 3 [SS3] JLOTS capabiltiy by FY05. Sea State 3 is defined as significant wave height of 3.5 feet to 5.0 feet per the Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) Mission Need Statement. Some AOR's have Sea State 3 conditions 50% of the time. Legacy lighterage is only capable through Sea State 2.
The Gaza floating dock was opened for the first time on 17 May 2024, but it quickly collapsed after a week of operation due to strong waves, and parts of it separated until they reached the shore of the city of Ashdod, but the American army later announced its restoration and reopening.
On 24 June 2024, the HAMAS government media in Gaza accused the US administration and the Israeli occupation authorities of using the floating pier on the coast of the Strip to “carry out security and military operations,” including the “ Nuseirat massacre ,” which left hundreds of martyrs and wounded. The government media spokesman said, during a press conference, “The floating dock was used in preparation and launch to carry out security and military missions, including committing the Nuseirat camp crime.” He added that the dock "had a major security and military role in this horrific massacre, with the approval and direct knowledge of the American administration."
He accused the American administration of using this platform for the purpose of "lying and misleading," saying, "The platform is nothing but a lie and the selling of illusions, and the American administration's handling of it through the media came only within the framework of misleading public opinion, and it is a failed attempt to improve the ugly face of the American administration that participates in the crime of genocide in Gaza."
The US Central Command denied reports about the use of the pier in the Nusseirat operation, and considered any such claim to be incorrect. This command confirmed that the Israeli army used the area south of the pier in its military operation to recover prisoners, stressing that the temporary pier was established on the Gaza coast for the purpose of helping transport aid to the Strip only.
The US administration was exposed to great embarrassment in May 2024 when the Pentagon was forced to suspend the entry of relief aid into the Gaza Strip due to the collapse of part of the floating dock built by the US army off the coast of the besieged Strip. Pentagon data indicated that bad weather and high waves in the eastern Mediterranean caused parts of the floating dock to collapse, and the separation of 4 American warships that were used to stabilize it. In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, a former American military official stated that “the Pentagon’s policies were the direct cause of this resounding scandal.”
The US Army announced on 28 May 2024 that the pier, which was built off the coast of Gaza to deliver aid, would be temporarily removed after part of the structure separated, two weeks after it began operating. On 25 May 2024, the US Army's Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement that four US Army ships tasked with supporting the pier "slipped from their moorings" and ran aground amid heavy waves. According to Centcom, two ships ran aground on the Gaza coast, while the other two ran aground on the Israeli coast, 50 km south of Tel Aviv.
The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) announced, on 30 May 2024, the transfer of parts of the temporary military naval pier off the coast of the pier sector, which was damaged by strong winds, to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where work is being done to repair it. The Pentagon said that the process of rebuilding and repairing the temporary pier will take more than a week, after which it will be reinstalled on the Gaza coast. A Cypriot government official announced that humanitarian aid to Gaza continues to leave Cyprus by sea, and will remain stored in ships off the coast of the Strip until repairs are made to the temporary dock.
On 07 June 2024, the US Central Command announced the reconstruction of the floating pier off the coast of Gaza designated for transporting limited amounts of aid to the besieged Strip, after its collapse “due to rough waves.” The US Army announced that the on 19 June 2024 it had reinstalled the temporary floating dock on the shore of the Gaza Strip , and that humanitarian aid had entered the Strip through it. The US Central Command ( Centcom ) said in a statement that trucks loaded with about 656 metric tons of humanitarian aid entered Gaza yesterday, Thursday, through the temporary dock, noting that this is considered the largest amount of aid to enter through it in one day. It indicated in her statement that 4,160 metric tons of humanitarian aid had been delivered through the pier since its establishment. CENTCOM confirmed that the pier was moved to avoid the expected high waves and ensure the safety of its structure as well as the safety of its workers. Stephane Dujarric , spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres , said that they are “grateful that the United States built the floating dock, but it cannot replace the opening of land crossings.” He said that about 97 trucks loaded with aid entered through the pier, which is "just a small addition to what we already need."
Since the start of its operation against Gaza following Operation “ Al-Aqsa Flood ” on October 7, Israel controlled the process of bringing humanitarian aid into the Strip through land crossings. With the occupation obstructing its entry, the United States first resorted to air drops of aid, which did not prove successful, and then to the idea of a temporary port and naval pier. The pier took two months to build at a cost of $320 million, and nearly a thousand American soldiers participated in its construction. The port consists of two parts. A double-lane bridge was located on the beach, installed by the US Army, and a dirt pier on the shores of Gaza. The second part was a platform at sea, 5 kilometers from the Gaza coast. It is 270 feet long and 72 feet wide. It is designated for receiving and unloading the cargo of large ships that cannot reach the shallow waters near the shore. This mechanism was used for only a week before parts of it collapsed.
A statement issued by the Pentagon, stated that “four US Army ships supporting the maritime humanitarian aid mission in Gaza were affected by rough sea conditions on Saturday, May 25, which led to the movement of parts used to stabilize the pier from their moorings due to a power outage and then stayed away from the beach." The same statement added, "Within the next 48 hours, the pier will be removed from its anchored location on the coast and towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where the US Central Command will carry out repairs. The process of rebuilding and repairing it will take at least more than a week, and it will be necessary, after its completion, to reconstruct it." Anchoring it on the coast of Gaza.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, defense affairs expert Michael Beck said that with a temporary dock, there is always a risk of damage from bad weather. It is not a substitute for the necessity of a permanent port, nor is it a reliable alternative for aid convoys via land routes. In his opinion, it is much better than air supplies. He added that "fortunately" these temporary structures were designed to be repaired fairly quickly. “It is ironic that the sidewalk is being repaired in Israel.”
Reports indicated that among the four stabilization ships that separated earlier this week, two of them floated north and landed on a beach in the port of Ashdod, while the other two ships are still anchored on the beach near the pier off the Gaza Strip. The temporary dock requires very good sea conditions to operate. It can only be operated safely in waves no higher than a maximum of 3 feet and winds less than approximately 15 mph.
For his part, David De Roche, professor of security studies at the Pentagon's National Defense University and a former NATO official , says that the destruction of the pier is a direct result of some misguided cost-cutting measures by the US military under the leadership of former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and President Former Staff Gen. Mark Milley. In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, De Roches accused the most senior military official in the administration of former President Donald Trump of indirectly causing what he considered a "big scandal."
According to Des Roches, the former officials took the initiative to discuss how to reduce the budget, programs and equipment of the ground forces, and decided to reduce their numbers. Among these reductions were sea vessels belonging to the ground forces. He added that they kept these joint logistics onshore (4 of which were used at the Gaza pier) and some landing ships, but they got rid of the tugs and other large ships needed to move the equipment and put it in place. According to De Roches, the task of building the pier could have been assigned to the US Navy. "We had these necessary capabilities without the need for installation equipment to deal with bad weather situations," he said.
It is likely that the introduction of aid in this way will not have a significant impact on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but rather it will be vulnerable (once it reaches the Strip) to fall into the hands of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). He believes that it is a very expensive way to transport goods to Gaza, "and it would be more profitable to transport them by truck through the border crossings, which could be under the supervision of the Israeli side."
It is noteworthy that 5 years ago, Congress asked the US Land Forces to halt its plans to reduce the numbers of its huge naval vessels of amphibious landing ships, landing craft, and a variety of other naval assets, which are also referred to as the “Navy Land Forces.” This came after the USAV SSGT Robert T. Kuroda-class logistics support ship was put up for sale, and after a temporary removal from the Department of Defense's General Services Administration auction site, ships and naval assets belonging to the ground forces returned. It has once again been put up for sale, indicating that liquidation plans are proceeding at least as previously planned.
The Pentagon said on 28 May 2024 that the temporary naval pier established by the US army off the coast of the Gaza Strip will be removed for repairs, and will be returned once those repairs are completed.
On 14 June 2024, the US Central Command ( CENTCOM ) announced that it had decided to temporarily move the floating dock from its location on the Gaza Strip coast to the Israeli port of Ashdod again due to what was said to be expectations of high sea waves. CENTCOM noted that she "did not take the decision to temporarily move the dock lightly, but it is necessary to ensure that the temporary dock continues to provide aid to Gaza in the future."
USAID Administrator Samantha Power acknowledged 19 June 2024 the difficulties facing the floating dock that the US military built on the coast of the Gaza Strip , and expressed her appreciation for the humanitarian role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ( UNRWA ) in the Strip. Power said that land crossings are less expensive and allow relief to continue, but she confirmed in an interview with Al Jazeera that the floating dock is important in the US agency’s vision of the process of bringing aid into Gaza.
On 27 June 2024 the US House of Representatives voted against allocating funds to support the temporary dock on the shores of the Gaza Strip. The US House of Representatives voted for an amendment to the draft budget of the State Department for the next fiscal year, prohibiting the allocation of funds to support the floating dock on the shores of the Gaza Strip. The amendment, presented by Republican Representative Waltz Press, received a majority of 209 votes, against 200 against it.
Republican Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, had formally addressed the Biden administration to request the closure of the floating dock, describing the operation as ineffective, risky and a waste of money. “I urge the administration to stop this failed operation immediately before another catastrophe occurs, and I call on it to study alternative means of sending humanitarian aid by land and air,” Rogers wrote.
The US Department of Defense announced 28 June 2024 another dismantling of the floating dock off the Gaza Strip. CNN quoted US officials as saying that the United States is dismantling the temporary pier off Gaza for the third time. US officials attributed this to turbulent weather conditions, and expectations of high waves and bad weather. They pointed out that this is the third time that the United States has stopped the operation of the floating dock, since it began operating it 6 weeks ago, and it is also the second time that the dock has been deliberately disconnected as a precautionary measure to avoid damage in bad weather conditions. ABC News quoted the Pentagon and USAID comptroller general offices as saying that reviews are underway regarding the mission to deliver aid to Gaza, noting that these reviews came after the US Army's temporary docking system faced operational challenges. The U.S. is considering not re-installing it unless aid begins flowing to those who need it, U.S. officials said. The vast majority of the aid is still sitting in a storage yard due to the difficulty that agencies have had in moving it to where it is most needed in Gaza, and the storage area is almost full.
The U.S. military said 17 July 2024 its mission to install and operate a temporary floating dock off the coast of the Gaza Strip was complete, formally ending an extraordinary but faltering effort to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
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