Above photo: The General Frank S Besson is carrying the first load of equipment to build a floating harbour in Gaza. US Central Command.
Israeli prime minister suggested the US-built port could assist in ethnically cleansing Palestinians from Gaza.
US troops have begun construction of a maritime port off the coast of Gaza, the Pentagon said on 26 April, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face further displacement ahead of Israel’s anticipated invasion of Rafah.
“I can confirm that US military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea,” Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters.
US President Joe Biden announced the building of the port on 7 March, claiming it would allow a large-scale delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the threat of famine loomed.
However, the plan to build the port was first suggested to Biden by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 22 October, shortly after the war began, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Speaking at a private meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on 20 March, Netanyahu suggested the port could also facilitate the removal of Palestinians from Gaza, Kan News reported.
“As far as the State of Israel is concerned, there is no obstacle for the Gazans to leave, maybe even the port they are building could be used for this, but there are no countries in the world that are ready to receive them,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu’s statement raises fears the port could be used to expel Palestinians who have nowhere to flee ahead of Israel’s long-planned invasion of Rafah on the Gaza–Egypt border.
At the time of Biden’s 7 March announcement of the pier, Israeli officials were blocking most aid deliveries to Gaza overland by truck. A week before the announcement, the Israeli army fired into a crowd of hungry and starving people seeking to receive sacks of flour at Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City. Israeli fire and the subsequent stampede it caused killed 118.
Reuters reports that a senior White House official said humanitarian aid reaching the pier by sea “will need to pass through Israeli checkpoints on land. That is despite the aid having already been inspected by Israel in Cyprus prior to being shipped to Gaza.”
Israel claims it wants to prevent any aid from getting to Hamas fighters that would allow them to keep fighting occupying Israeli forces.
Reuters adds that Israeli checkpoints at the pier “raises questions about possible delays even after aid reaches shore. The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza.”
The pier will initially receive enough aid to load 90 trucks daily, but the number is expected to increase as the pier becomes fully operational.
Under heavy international pressure, Israel has allowed additional aid into Gaza in the past month. According to the UN, an average of 200 trucks a day have been allowed into Gaza in April. On Monday, Israel allowed 316 trucks into the besieged strip.
Despite this apparent increase, the number of aid trucks allowed in remains insufficient. According to UN aid agencies and other humanitarian groups, at least 500 to 600 trucks are needed daily to sustain Gaza’s population.
Despite the recent increase in aid trucks, northern Gaza is still heading toward a famine, the deputy UN food chief warned Thursday. He appealed for Israel to allow direct access from its southern Ashdod port to the Erez crossing.
The White House official cited by Reuters added that about 1,000 US troops would support the building and operation of the pier, including in coordination cells in Cyprus and Israel. President Biden has previously stated no US troops would set foot in Gaza itself.
The official added that a third party will drive trucks down the pier onto the beach.
The Israeli military said it would provide security and logistics support for the pier, including protecting the US troops constructing and operating it.
A UN official speaking anonymously with Ynet said several disagreements remain around how Israel will manage the port’s security. The military is reportedly seeking to install remote-controlled gun positions, which the UN opposes, the official said.