Biden’s aid pier in Gaza to shut down after 2 months of operation

The troubled project is set to close down after less than two months since installation, without addressing any concerns around ongoing genocide in Gaza

July 12, 2024 by Peoples Dispatch

After less than two months since its installation, the United States is set to close Biden’s failed “humanitarian aid pier” in Gaza, which was first announced during the US President’s State of the Union address in March, amid heightened Palestine solidarity protests. The pier served as Biden’s response to growing outrage around the death toll of Israeli attacks in Gaza, the lack of humanitarian aid entering the enclave, and the United States’ sustained political and military support for Israel.

The US has also faced accusations that the pier was used by Israeli forces to carry out the Nuseirat refugee camp massacre on June 8 after a video circulated showing an Israeli helicopter taking off near the pier. The Pentagon denied these accusations, stating that, “The humanitarian pier facility, including its equipment, personnel, and assets were not used in the operation to rescue hostages today in Gaza.  An area south of the facility was used by the Israelis to safely return the hostages to Israel… The temporary pier on the coast of Gaza was put in place for one purpose only, to help move additional, urgently needed lifesaving assistance into Gaza.”

The pier had to be removed on June 28 due to poor weather conditions, and the US was unable to re-anchor it since, citing “technical and weather-related issues.”  According to the Pentagon, more than 8,000 tons of humanitarian aid had been delivered from the pier while it was in operation. And yet, the people of Gaza continue to suffer conditions of genocide. UN experts say that there is already famine in Gaza. 

Even directly after it was announced, the so-called temporary aid pier was not sufficient to satisfy the bare minimum needed by the Palestinian people in Gaza, which according to the United Nations, which is 500 to 600 aid trucks daily. People within Palestine and in the solidarity movement across the US, have demanded a permanent ceasefire, an end to Israel’s siege on Gaza, and an end to all US aid to Israel. Activists criticized that instead of requiring Israel to open border crossings to allow in more humanitarian aid, Biden announced that the US would be building a pier to facilitate the flow of aid, even after Israel closed the Kerem Shalom and Rafah border crossings, which were the two main arteries for aid entering the Strip. The limited quantity of aid allowed through Israeli-controlled border crossings continues to fall far short of the bare minimum. 

In addition to the pier proposal, and in lieu of pressuring Israel to open border crossings, the US has resorted to airdrops of aid. Airdropped aid has been criticized as insufficient in quantity and dangerous, as dozens Palestinians have been killed as a result of airdropping malfunctions.

The Biden administration has also actively defunded the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza, the UNRWA. 

“That’s not what Gaza needs,” said a protester at a demonstration outside the Capitol on March 7, where Biden was giving the annual State of the Union address. “Gaza needs liberation. They need an end to US military funding for Israel, and they need to be able to finally end…75 plus years of ethnic cleansing.”

This article originally appeared in Peoples Dispatch on July 12th, 2024

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