It remains to be seen whether the new operation in Ashdod will be more effective than the repeatedly sidelined floating vessel, or if it will assuage concerns among US officials and aid groups who have urged Israel to loosen its stranglehold on those who can enter Gaza by land. A major obstacle is the safety of humanitarian workers responsible for ensuring Palestinians have access to exports, as the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas — and the war’s staggering civilian toll — has crippled supply efforts.
To date, about a million pounds of aid has been moved from Ashtod “as proof of concept,” Cooper said, with millions more pounds to follow.
Cooper called the 20 million tons of aid in Gaza “the largest amount of humanitarian aid ever” given to the Middle East. Humanitarian groups have described it as part of what is needed to address Gaza’s hunger crisis.
President Biden announced the mission in March, after Israel rejected his and other leaders’ demands that more ground routes be opened for aid deliveries. At the time, Pentagon officials predicted that the floating ship would help deliver Up to 2 million meals per day. Citing an estimate provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which helps coordinate humanitarian teams working in Gaza, officials said on Wednesday that, in total, the amount of aid brought overboard was enough to feed half a million people. Kazans per month.
Biden, speaking during his State of the Union address, said the scope of suffering and starvation in Gaza made the U.S. mission a moral imperative, and he insisted that U.S. troops would not go ashore — trying to find a delicate balance between keeping Americans inside. The way of evil and standing idly by as famine added to the war’s civilian toll.
Once The operation, which cost more than $200 million, was plagued by numerous complications. Constantly rough seas battered and damaged the structure, forcing repeated shutdowns of operations. Importantly, aid teams expected to distribute food once it reached the ground were reluctant to do so, citing persistent security fears.
In total, the ship operated for more than 20 days, Cooper said. It was last operational at the end of June. Deliveries began on May 17, which means it was in service about a third of the time.
USAID top official Sonali Korte said officials were confident the humanitarian mission’s move to Ashdod would be a viable solution, though she acknowledged there would be hurdles.
“The main challenge we have in Gaza right now is around insecurity and lawlessness, which is preventing the delivery of aid once it gets into Gaza and to the crossing points,” he told reporters.
At a news conference last week, Biden said he was “disappointed that some of the things I’ve put forward haven’t been successful.” Of the floating ship in particular, he said, “I believe it will be very successful.”
The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a frequent critic of the president, Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.) captured the announcement Wednesday. The mission, he said, was “a national disgrace”.
Wicker and other GOP lawmakers have warned since its inception that the ship’s deployment, along with the roughly 1,000 troops needed to build and operate it, would provide an opportunity to strike U.S. adversaries in the region. Those fears are unfounded.
In a statement, the senator said it was “a miracle that no American lives were lost in this devastating action at the outset.”
