US military ship heading to Gaza to build temporary harbour

A US military ship is on its way to the Middle East, with the intention of building a temporary pier, off the coast of Gaza.

The General Frank S Besson support ship, set sail from a base in the state of Virginia, on Saturday 9 March as an immediate response to President Joe Biden’s promise to create a floating harbour, to enable desperately needed aid get into the stricken strip, by means of a sea landing.

Aid deliveries by land and air have proved incredibly difficult and increasingly dangerous as the conflict has raged, prompting the UN to warn that famine in Gaza is “almost inevitable” and announce that children are tragically starving to death.

To help achieve their mission, the US has partnered with a little-known private firm, Fogbow, which is run by former military and intelligence officials. According to the US defence department, this temporary pier will mean two million meals a day could enter Gaza, bringing much needed relief.

The Pentagon indicated that it might take up to 60 days to build the pier, which will be achieved with the assistance of around 1,000 troops, none of whom will be going ashore.

However, charities have said those suffering terribly in Gaza right now, simply cannot wait that long.

Hundreds of thousands desperate for aid

The Israelis launched a military air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip following the 7 October attacks carried out by Hamas, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and a further 253 others were taken hostage.

Nearly 31,000 have lost their lives since then and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in devastated surroundings, have been left with little food or clean water.

North of Gaza cut-off

Lorries have been entering the south of Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing and the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, managing to get at least some aid through. But the north, which was the focus of the first phase of the Israeli ground offensive, has been largely cut off from assistance, leaving catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

The West have been pressing Israel to expand land deliveries by facilitating more routes, but with convoys coming under gunfire and looting, the US have acted.

Military experience behind assisting firm

The ambitious plan for a floating pier carries with it many logistical and security challenges. Helping the US in this project are the little-known private firm, Fogbow, which is led by a former Marine Corps lieutenant colonel with Middle East experience, and a former CIA paramilitary officer and assistant secretary of defence to the region.

Difficult assembly lies ahead

Nevertheless, the prospect of hostile fire remains very real. The idea revolves around different components that will require technical assembly. The steel segmented dock itself and a two-lane, 1,800ft causeway and pier will take some constructing.

The aim will be to have cargo ships deliver supplies to the temporary structure, which will then be offloaded onto logistics support vessels and taken to the pier. From there, vehicles will drive the supplies onto land and into Gaza.

Previous experience to be called upon

That is the plan at least, and to avoid any need for forces to have to set foot on the “Strip” the causeway will be assembled at sea and then “driven” into the beach.

The US military have used this method – officially known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS – before in Haiti, Central America, Kuwait, and Somalia, in other disaster relief missions.