Questions, Concerns Remain Over Floating Dock Set to Deliver Aid to Gaza
Summary from the AllSides News Team
As the U.S. military prepares to begin using a floating dock off the coast of Gaza to deliver aid to Palestinians, questions remain regarding the logistics, safety, and impact of the operation.
For Context: In March, President Joe Biden announced a new plan to deliver aid to Gaza. The U.S. military will operate a floating dock off the coast of Gaza and deliver aid to shore. Biden stressed that U.S. boots would not be on the ground.
Safety Concerns: Speaking at a House Armed Services Committee hearing late last month, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that it was possible that U.S. troops delivering aid to Gaza would be fired upon. Also last month, a group of Senators sent a letter to President Joe Biden stating, “This decision appears to ignore force protection issues entirely against an enemy that tries to kill Americans every day.”
Impact: Aid workers are expressing doubt that the floating dock will be able to provide a significant amount of aid. At its peak, the dock is expected to deliver 150 trucks of aid per day. Prior to the Oct. 7 attack, roughly 500 trucks of aid entered Gaza each day.
How the Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum are focusing on the questions and concerns surrounding the dock. Left-rated outlets are focusing more on doubts surrounding the amount of aid that will be delivered by the dock, and right-rated outlets are focusing more on concerns regarding U.S. troops’ safety.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
The U.S. military pier off Gaza may soon be operating. Aid workers question its role
As early as this weekend, some 90 trucks will roll off a metal causeway onto a beach in Gaza.
Then the United Nations will deliver the much-needed food and medicine to Palestinians, some of whom are already suffering famine conditions. The United Nations said half of Gaza's more than 2 million people are starving.
But questions remain about whether this will be a successful operation. Senior military officials say tens of thousands of desperate residents could cluster at the end of the causeway, snarling the trucks and denying much needed...
From the Center
Gaza pier could be dangerous for US troops
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s warning comes as the port off the coast of Gaza is expected to be ready sometime in early May.
Speaking at a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Austin told lawmakers that it was “possible” U.S. servicemembers could be shot while operating the pier off the coast of Gaza.
“Typically, all of the deployed service members carry guns and they have the ability to protect themselves if challenged,” Austin said.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) questioned if that meant U.S. troops would shoot back, and Austin replied in...
From the Right
Growing controversy over Biden's Gaza pier fuels concerns over cost, security
The rising costs of a floating pier off the coast of the embattled Gaza Strip – said to be aimed at enabling shipments of humanitarian aid to reach the civilian population trapped in the central and northern parts of the Palestinian enclave – has stoked controversy after it was revealed this week that the project will cost the U.S. upward of $320 million.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command posted photographs on X of the pier under construction by U.S. soldiers in the Mediterranean Sea, saying that the hulking metal platform "will support USAID...
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