Why did US' humanitarian aid pier in Gaza fail?
The floating pier off the coast of Gaza meant to alleviate aid shortages was operational for just 12 days before it was destroyed by stormy weather.
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WASHINGTON — Top officials at US Central Command spent weeks running through plans for the Israeli military to set up a perimeter on land, sea and air to secure a beachhead on the shores of the Gaza Strip to unload humanitarian aid in a last-ditch effort to help avert famine.
After President Joe Biden authorized the mission in March, the US Army dispatched its own top commander in the Middle East, Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank, to set up a dedicated office near Ashdod to oversee joint command-and-control with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a bid to ensure UN aid workers — and US troops — were protected.
But it wasn’t hostile action by Hamas that took down the US-built pier. It was the weather.
