Concerns raised over placement of Gaza jetty
Concerns have been raised regarding the placement of the jetty which is being constructed by the United States off the coast of Gaza.
The jetty is being constructed off the coast of Gaza with the aim of facilitating the receipt of aid under Cyprus’ Amalthea plan – the humanitarian aid corridor connecting the island with Gaza.
However, British newspaper The Guardian reported on Wednesday that the jetty’s placement may be too far south to help alleviate the “very high” risk of famine in the northern part of the strip.
US special envoy for humanitarian issues told Reuters the risk was “very high”, but that steps were being taken to ameliorate the issue. Despite this, he said, “there is still considerable work to be done.”
“We have always stressed that we were in a man-made situation and it can only be addressed by political will and decisions, and the last few days show this is possible,” he said.
The north of Gaza, including Gaza City, has been effectively cut off from the rest of the strip by a military road constructed by the Israeli Defence Force which connects Israel with Gaza’s coast, known as the Netzarim corridor.
As such, if the jetty is placed south of the Netzarim corridor, any aid sent towards Gaza City and the rest of the north of the strip will still have to pass through an IDF checkpoint. This would arguably defeat the point of shipping the aid directly to Gaza.
In addition, The Guardian said it had been informed that some view the jetty’s placement further south as a potential “smokescreen” which would allow Israel to close the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossing points and conduct a full-scale attack on the city of Rafah.
Over a million people are currently sheltering in Rafah, though it has been widely reported that the IDF wishes for them to move out so they can attack the city. However, with most of the rest of Gaza having been flattened, it is not yet clear where they expect them to move.
The Guardian said a United Nations official had told them one of the “key arguments” for constructing a jetty was “to put it further north so that suppliers could come in more directly to the north”.
President Nikos Christodoulides had been more optimistic about the construction of the jetty on Tuesday, saying his government is “eagerly awaiting [its] construction”.
“We are awaiting the completion of the work by the US, so that the humanitarian aid mission to Gaza, which, after recent developments is needed now more than ever, can resume,” he said.