As part of the State of the Union address, it was announced that the United States was going to “build a pier” to provide a port of entry for emergency relief supplies. Gaza has no maritime port capable of supporting more than fishing boats – in other words, there is a single marina. Gaza has relied on true merchant shipping ports in Egypt and Israel. Those options are not and have not been available since the start of the war in Gaza.“Build a pier” probably does not do justice to what the US Army (yes, the US Army!) has been tasked with building.: JLOTS (Joint Logistics Over the Shore). It is a capability the Army has had since the amphibious landings of WWII. It is not a D-Day operation, but one the followed after the beachhead was secured. JLOTS has been recently deployed in Haiti in the aftermath of severe hurricane damage and the need to bring in massive amounts of relief aid.

Implementing JLOTS has a lot of “moving parts” and the ongoing war, destroyed infrastructure internal to Gaza, and the shallow coastline – all compound the problem. If you are curious about the big picture and nuts-n-bolts of the operation, I recommend you take a look at Sal Mercogliano’s “What Going On with Shipping” Youtube Channel. His video Gaza Pier Pressure is thorough and insightful.