The Pentagon claimed on Wednesday that its Gaza pier aid mission achieved its objective, even though it failed to meet expectations and will close earlier then expected.
The pier, designed as a causeway to deliver aid via a maritime route, will be permanently shuttered after being open for less than three months, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Despite being frequently hampered by logistical and operational problems and largely failing to get aid into Gaza, the Pentagon declared Wednesday that the pier was a successful operation and its mission is now “complete,” according to multiple outlets.
“Our assessment is that the temporary pier has achieved its intended effect: to surge a very high volume of aid into Gaza and ensure that aid reaches the civilians in Gaza in a quick manner,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, a top official in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, told reporters on Wednesday, according to USNI News and Reuters. “The maritime surge mission involving the pier is complete. So there’s no more need to use the pier.”
Cooper told reporters that the pier delivered “the largest volume of human assistance ever” to the Middle East region, at roughly 20 million pounds of aid, according to The Washington Post. But given that truck convoys through land border crossings are the most effective method to get aid into Gaza, assistance will now be delivered to the Israeli port of Ashdod and transported south into the region.
Even when fully operational, the pier was only expected to deliver between 90 and 150 truckloads worth of aid to Gaza, when roughly 500 trucks are needed on a daily basis, according to NPR. But the pier fell below even those expectations, delivering only about 425 truckloads of aid total since it was opened in mid-May, according to Reuters.
President Joe Biden had reportedly told the Pentagon his idea for the pier days before publicly announcing it at the State of the Union in March, leaving defense officials scrambling to create a plan. The pier was hastily constructed in May but could not withstand the frequent high-sea conditions of the Mediterranean, forcing the U.S. military — which was tasked with operating the pier — to temporarily close it on multiple occasions.
The pier was only operational for roughly 20 days and cost $230 million, according to the most current Pentagon estimates. Defense officials were reportedly hoping that the pier would last at least until September.
The Pentagon previously admitted that there was also a baseline risk that terror-affiliated fighters could fire on the U.S. troops operating the pier, which is located only a couple miles off the coast of Gaza. Thousands of Hamas terrorists are currently scattered throughout Gaza.
Biden said at a recent press conference that he was “disappointed that some of the things I put forward have not succeeded.” Regarding the pier specifically, Biden said that he was “hopeful that would be more successful.”
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Featured image credit: (Courtesy Photo/U.S. Central Command)
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