The project had been spinning in Winston Churchill’s head for at least a couple of years before landing in France in June 1944. In ten months, the Allies transported along the piers 2 and a half million men, half a million vehicles, 4 million tons of materials and supplies. It took the British twelve days to put them down and ad attach them to the Normandy coast to create a docking port where it did not exist. The metal plates that served as bases were called “whales” and the steel or concrete pillars that supported them were “beetles”. Now the Americans are replicating the idea, the technology is obviously more advanced. But the platform will not be attacked in Gaza.
The US Navy, at least 14 ships involved, is setting one up in a spot where the waters off the coast are deep and freighters can dock. From there smaller boats, with a flat keel, they will transport humanitarian aid to the dock on land that Israeli sappers are throwing over the water using sand and rubble from destroyed houses.
The longest journey will remain the one from Cyprus to the Strip, 210 nautical miles (just under 400 kilometres) the same maritime corridor used by World Central Kitchen. Seven volunteers from the organization were killed by Israeli missiles while trying to move and distribute food in early April.
The United Nations World Food Program warns that in 5 weeks the population will 363 square kilometers would exceed the famine threshold, there are already dozens of malnourished children. When US President Joe Biden announced the relief plan in March, he assured that no US soldier would set foot on the Strip.
According to the BBC broadcaster, British troops will be tasked with completing the last part of the operation, from the floating port to the beaches of Gaza. It is the riskiest stretch of transport as long as the Strip remains a battlefield, the security perimeter around the docking point would be guaranteed by the Israelis. It is not far from the outpost set up at the end towards the Mediterranean of the so-called Netzarim corridor, the strip that cuts the territory in two and over which Benjamin Netanyahu’s government intends to maintain control for a long time, in the prime minister’s proclamations even after the end of the war.
