By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican lawmaker who heads the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee has written to the Biden administration formally demanding the closure of its aid dock on the Gaza coast, calling the operation ineffective, risky and a waste of money.
The offshore floating dock, announced by Biden in March as a response to the threat of famine in the Gaza Strip, was built off the coast of the enclave by the US military as a way to bring in food and other aid supplies.
The US military has been authorized to operate it until the end of July, but a US Agency for International Development official said this week that the administration could try to extend it for at least another month.
“I urge the administration to immediately cease this failed operation before a new catastrophe occurs and consider alternative means of delivering humanitarian aid by ground and air,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers wrote in a letter seen by Reuters .
The letter, sent to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has not previously been released.
Rogers has long been opposed to the pier and has called in the past for its dismantling, but had not previously expressed that opinion in a formal letter written to management.
Its Armed Services Committee is the Pentagon’s main oversight body in the House of Representatives, and formal requests from its chairman traditionally require a response from Pentagon officials.
Aid began arriving via the US-built pier on May 17 to Gaza, where nearly all 2.3 million residents have been displaced by Israel’s campaign against the militant group Hamas.
But rough seas damaged the pier, forcing repairs, and bad weather limited the number of days the pier was operational. Most of the supplies that have reached the coast have not yet been distributed by UN aid agencies, which say their operations have been limited by insecurity.
“As of June 19, JLOTS had only been operational for about 10 days and had only moved 3,415 metric tons ashore in Gaza,” Rogers wrote, using the U.S. military acronym for the dock system, known as Joint Logistics Over the Shore.
According to US military data, as of Tuesday, 8,332 pallets had been delivered through the dock. But about 84% of them are sitting on the Gaza coast in a sorting area, waiting to be collected by the United Nations for distribution.
The World Food Program halted deliveries earlier this month due to safety concerns.
Reuters gained rare access to the US military dock near Gaza on Tuesday and saw pallets of aid being transferred from a ship to the 370-metre-long pier as it swayed with approaching waves. The pallets were then trucked to the coast.
The operation is complex, involving around 1,000 US military personnel. The Pentagon estimates that the first 90 days of operation will cost around $230 million.
Rogers also noted that three U.S. service members suffered non-combat-related injuries while deployed on the operation.
“I urge the Administration to immediately cease this failed operation before a new catastrophe occurs and to consider alternative means of delivering humanitarian aid by ground and air,” Rogers wrote.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart)
