WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and allies are scrambling to pull together a complex system that will move tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza by sea.
Here’s how it will work: IT ALL STARTS IN CYPRUS Humanitarian aid bound for Gaza through the maritime route will be delivered by air or sea to Cyprus, an island at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
The U.S. military official said the LSVs can hold 15 trucks each and the LCUs about five.
SMALL BOATS TO THE CAUSEWAY The small Army boats will sail to the two-lane, 550-meter (1,800-foot) causeway.
U.S. Gaza envoy David Satterfield said last week that only about 200 trucks a day were getting into Gaza, far short of the 500 that international aid organizations say are needed.
Those include how Israeli forces will operate in Gaza to ensure that aid workers are not harmed.
But the U.S. military official said it will be far more robust when deliveries begin than it is now.
The IDF will handle security on the shore, and the U.S. military will provide its own security for the Army and Navy forces offshore.
AP/WASHINGTON — The U.S. S. and allies are working feverishly to put together a convoluted plan that will transport tons of humanitarian supplies by sea into Gaza. The directive was issued by President Joe Biden nearly two months ago, and U. S. To serve as the delivery platform, Army and Navy personnel are building a sizable floating platform a few miles off the coast of Gaza.
However, any eventual distribution of aid, which might begin as early as May, will depend on a convoluted security and logistical plan with numerous moving components and undetermined details.
There is an urgent need for relief, as the U. Not N. claiming that there will soon be a famine in Gaza. However, security concerns remain widespread. However, some humanitarian organizations argue that since there is still so much need, the emphasis should be on pressuring Israel to remove barriers to aid delivery via land routes.
According to the Pentagon on Monday, the system’s setup should cost at least $320 million. This is how the process will operate:.
ALL OF THIS BEGINS IN CYPRUS.
The island of Cyprus, which is located on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, will receive humanitarian aid that is headed for Gaza via maritime routes.
According to Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, the aid will be subject to security inspections at the port of Larnaca. Israel is concerned about security and wants to make sure that no cargo is loaded onto ships that Hamas could use to attack Israeli troops. Using that single departure point will allay those worries.
A government official from Cyprus who spoke on condition of anonymity to publicly disclose details about the security operation said that the screening would be stringent and thorough, including the use of mobile X-ray machines. Israeli teams, U.S. officials, and Cypriot customs will all be involved in the process. s. as well as the Project Services Office of the UN.
A U.S. military official stated that the U. s. has established a coordination cell in Cyprus in order to collaborate with the local government, the U. s. Along with additional partners and agencies, the Agency for International Development. Speaking under anonymity to discuss specifics of the operation, the official stated that the group’s primary focus will be on organizing the aid’s collection and inspection.
Subsequently, to the floating platform.
After the aid pallets are examined, they will be loaded onto ships, mostly commercial ones, and transported 200 miles or so to the sizable floating pier that Congress is building. S. military in the Gaza coast region.
After that, the pallets will be loaded onto trucks and loaded onto two different kinds of smaller Army boats: Landing Craft Utility boats (LCUs) and Logistic Support Vessels (LSVs). The ‘U. S. A military official stated that the LCUs can hold roughly five trucks and the LSVs can hold fifteen each.
After that, the Army boats will transport the trucks from the pier to a floating causeway that will be anchored into the beach by Israeli Defense Forces and several miles distant.
Due to Biden’s declaration that no U. s. forces will arrive in Gaza; the soldiers building, operating, and staffing the boats will be sheltered and fed on other ships offshore close to the sizable floating pier.
The RFA Cardigan Bay, a support ship of the British Royal Navy, will house hundreds of U. s. Soldiers and sailors constructing the pier. Officials withheld the identity of the second contracted ship that will be utilized as housing.
LITTLE BOATS TO THE CAUSEWAY.
To reach the two-lane, 550-meter (1,800-foot) causeway, the small Army boats will sail.
The US. S. An American Army engineering unit and an Israeli engineering unit have been practicing causeway installation in recent weeks, according to a military official. They are practicing on an Israeli beach nearby. The U.S. G. Office of Hydrography has collaborated with the U.S. S. and the Israeli military to assess the coastline in order to get ready for the last installation.
You. s. Ships will force the floating causeway into the shoreline, where Israeli Defense Forces will be prepared to take it over.
Pallets of relief will be dropped off by trucks laden with them at a secure location on land, drive off the Army boats onto the causeway, and then turn around and head back to the boats. To ensure security, the trucks will only be allowed to travel a restricted route, repeating that loop over and over.
The drivers will be foreign nationals, but U.S. s. Authorities have refused to identify which one.
Distribution to assist NGOs and citizens.
At a port complex constructed by the Israelis southwest of Gaza City, humanitarian organizations will gather supplies for onshore distribution. The number of truckloads of aid expected each day is expected to increase rapidly to approximately 150, according to officials, starting at about 90.
The US. N. The logistics hub will be established on the beach in collaboration with USAID.
Three zones will exist at the port: an Israeli-controlled area where aid will be dropped off from the pier, a second area where aid will be transferred, and a third area where Palestinian drivers hired by the U.S. N. will not deliver the aid to distribution locations until after they have received it.
However, humanitarian organizations argue that this maritime corridor is insufficient to address Gaza’s needs and should only be a small component of a larger Israeli initiative to enhance long-term, on-the-ground aid delivery in order to prevent starvation.
The teams, the U. N. the U.S. S. and other governments, while recognizing Israel’s recent improvements, have blamed the decline in food shipments through land crossings on Israel’s aid restrictions and its inability to protect humanitarian workers.
You. S. Only 200 trucks per day, according to Gaza envoy David Satterfield’s statement last week, enter Gaza; this is far less than the 500 that international relief organizations estimate are required.
Both on and off shore security.
Security is a major worry, from terrorists to the Israeli military, which has come under fire for killing aid workers.
Important agreements for managing the aid deliveries and security are still being negotiated, according to USAID official Sonali Korde. Among them is the manner in which Israeli forces will conduct their operations in Gaza to guarantee the safety of relief workers.
The Israeli air strike on April 1 that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers as they were on a delivery mission authorized by Israel in vehicles with clearly marked identifiers has shocked humanitarian organizations.
Furthermore, there has already been one militant mortar attack at the location, in line with Hamas’s continuous threats to oppose the presence of any non-Palestinians in Gaza.
You. S. Israeli authorities have refrained from divulging particulars regarding the security measures. However, the U. s. When deliveries start, it will be far more robust than it is now, according to a military official. Also, the requirements for force protection there will be evaluated every day.
Security on the shore will be managed by the IDF, and the U.S. S. The military will secure the Army and Navy forces offshore on its own dime.
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