BREAKING: First Pictures of Floating Dock off Gaza Revealed – What You Need to Know

At a time when the United States confirmed that President Joe Biden had received new commitments from Israel to ensure the delivery of aid to Gaza, the US Army High Command today (Tuesday) published the first pictures of the naval pier he started building off the coast of Gaza.

This operation aims to deliver two million meals a day to the Gaza Strip, where the United Nations warns of “almost certain” famine.

The US Army Central Command said through its account of “X” that “the naval pier will support efforts aimed at supporting civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

$320 million

Yesterday (Monday), the Pentagon revealed that the cost to build the naval pier will not be less than $320 million.

Speaking to reporters, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the cost is a rough estimate for the project and includes transporting equipment and parts of the dock from the United States. to the Gaza coast, as well as construction and aid delivery.

Under the US military plan, the aid will be loaded onto commercial ships in Cyprus for transport to the launch dock.

The pallets will be loaded onto trucks, which will then be loaded onto smaller vessels heading for a two-way metal bridge.

This operation aims to deliver two million meals a day to the Gaza Strip

How will the United States install a floating port?

According to the Pentagon, the plan consists of two main components: a large floating pit made of pieces of steel and a two-lane, 548-meter (1,800-foot) road and pier.

The paved road consists of steel sections, each 12 meters (40 feet) long, connected together all the way to the coast.

Cargo ships loaded with relief supplies will arrive at the port, and the cargo will then be loaded into a group of boats and small vessels – known as logistics vessels – before being brought to a dock on the coast.

From the pier, trucks will carry out the work of transporting aid supplies to the mainland, and then into the Gaza Strip.

The paved road will connect the large marina floating in the sea to the coast, so that the United States does not have to send troops on the ground in Gaza. The United States supports Israel, its friend, while classifying the Hamas movement as a “terrorist organization.”

It is expected that more than a thousand American soldiers will participate in this operation, while “there will be no troops on the ground,” according to the US Department of Defense (Pentagon).

This amphibious construction project is officially known as Joint Coastal Logistics.

Initially the dock will handle 90 trucks per day but that number could reach 150

Its absorptive capacity

Biden ordered the American forces not to set foot on the Gaza beach, according to the Associated Press The pier will initially handle 90 trucks a day, but this number could reach 150 when it is operational at full capacity.

The United Nations said last week that the average daily number of trucks entering Gaza this month of April was 200, and that it reached its peak on Monday, with 316 trucks arriving. in.

A senior Biden administration official said last week that humanitarian aid coming from the pier would have to go through Israeli checkpoints on the ground, despite Israel inspecting the aid in Cyprus before it goes. sent to the Struggle.

It will be ready in 3 weeks

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced Sunday, in a statement to ABC News, that the floating dock will begin operating within a few weeks, but will not be an alternative to land routes, which is the best way to introduce food. supply into the Strip.

He explained, “It will probably take two or three weeks before we really see any process.”

The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) confirmed last week that the US Army had begun building a floating dock aimed at speeding up the delivery of aid.

Israel wants to prevent any aid from reaching Hamas fighters, to prevent them from strengthening their war effort.

The question of aid being under investigation raises doubts about what could delay its distribution, even after the aid reaches the shore.

The United Nations has long complained about obstacles preventing aid from reaching and distributing it throughout Gaza.

The international organization launched an appeal to raise $2.5 billion to try to meet the most urgent needs of the residents of the Gaza Strip in the period between April and December.

The United Nations says the five-month-long war has caused severe food shortages among the 2.4 million residents of the Gaza Strip, which in some areas have now exceeded levels. famine

As a result of the workers’ restriction on access to land aid, Arab and Western countries worked to drop aid from the air and recently sent aid from Cyprus through a sea corridor that had recently begun.

With little infrastructure, a charity recently built a temporary pit from the rubble to bring in support.

The pier will be operational in a few weeks

Fogbo Company… What is its role?

To help accomplish this mission, the United States partnered with a little-known private company called Fogbo, which is run by former U.S. military and intelligence officials, according to the BBC.

Fogbo is run by former Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Sam Mandy, who previously commanded forces in the Middle East; And Mike Mulroy who was a paramilitary officer at the CIA, who is currently the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle Eastern Affairs.

Details of the missions the company will carry out have not yet been made public. But a source familiar with the plan told the BBC that Operation “Fogbo” – the internal term for it is the “Blue Beach Plan” – largely boils down to organizing an aid movement when which reaches the coast of Gaza.

Ships and cargo containers will be loaded, and the aid will be loaded onto trucks that will then be transported to distribution centers inside Gaza, as part of a plan agreed upon by the governments of the United States and Israel.

“Fogbo” will not participate in the distribution mission, but its role will be limited to logistical tasks, according to expectations.