U.S. Army Vessel General Frank S. Besson from the 7th Transportation Brigade, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departs Saturday, March 9, 2024, from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea. Besson, a logistics support vessel, carries the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies. (U.S. Central Command)
WASHINGTON — The Navy will deploy 260 sailors and two U.S. Naval Ships from the West Coast to help build a temporary seaport to deliver aid into war-torn Gaza, officials said Wednesday.
The Pentagon announced nearly two weeks ago about 1,000 U.S. troops would deploy a floating pier and a roughly 1,800-foot causeway in the Mediterranean Sea off Gaza’s coast, where commercial vessels can dock and offload aid to be transported by smaller vessels and vehicles into Gaza.
The operation will use a makeshift dock known as a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, and include Navy and Army personnel, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, said at the time.
Four Army ships departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., last week carrying dozens of soldiers from the Army’s 7th Transportation Brigade. Army officials said about 500 soldiers were expected to deploy to support the pier-building operations. They followed the U.S. Army Vessel Frank S. Besson, which left Joint Base Langley-Eustis March 9, according to the Defense Department.
“Once in theater these vessels and their crews will establish a roll-on, roll-off pier capability that allows ship-to-shore humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza,” Ryder said last week. “We expect the pier to be fully operational in approximately 60 days, which will be able to facilitate the delivery of up to 2 million meals daily.”
Marines unload military vehicles from the USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo at East Arm Wharf, Darwin, Australia, in 2014. (James Gulliver/Marine Rotational Force-Darwin )
USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez pulls into the Port of Hammersodden, Norway. (Daniel Burton/Military Sealift Command Europe)
Navy officials, who spoke Wednesday on the condition of anonymity, said 260 sailors and the USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo and USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez would be involved in the operation. The Bobo and Lopez are prepositioning sealift ships, according to the Navy.
It was not clear when the sailors and ships would be deployed, but officials said the Navy would support the 60-day window.
According to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, 14 humanitarian assistance drops alongside its partners from the Jordanian military have delivered more than 250,000 meals, over 110,000 bottles of water and 17,000 pounds of other food items since March 2.
President Joe Biden ordered construction of the temporary port, announcing it March 7 during his State of the Union speech. He and Pentagon officials have said no U.S. troops would enter Gaza at any time during the building of the port or to deliver aid. Ryder said almost two weeks ago the Pentagon was working with international partners to ensure security of the operation, including to U.S. troops working on the port. Combat operations have spanned most of Gaza since Israel launched a war on Hamas militants in response to the Palestinian group’s surprise assault on Israelis on Oct. 7.
The U.N. said the roughly 2.3 million people in Gaza now face near-famine conditions since the fighting began.
