Joe Biden Gaza pier fiasco left 62 US forces injured, one dead and caused $48 million in damages: report
Former President Joe Biden's failed floating Gaza pier plan left 62 US personnel injured, one service member dead and caused at least $31 million (AUD$48 million) in damage to military equipment, according to a scathing Pentagon watchdog report that found the Army and Navy failed to properly plan, train for, prepare for and coordinate the mission.
The project, which Biden announced during his 2024 State of the Union address amid mounting protests on the left over Israel's war against Hamas, sought to deliver humanitarian aid to the terrorist-controlled enclave — but ultimately was functional for just 20 days before being abandoned.
The Defense Department Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) report, released late Tuesday, found that the military services were not adequately prepped for the mission — dubbed Operation Neptune Solace — but the project moved ahead despite the Army and Navy facing 'low equipment mission-capable rates and low manning and training levels.'
'The Army and Navy did not allocate sufficient maintenance, manning, [or] training,' according to the report, which also found that the services 'did not organize, train, and equip to a common joint standard' for the so-called 'joint logistics over-the-shore' (JLOTS) operation.
The disjointed nature of the effort contributed to 27 watercraft and other paraphernalia suffering damage costing $31 million to repair, the report found, as 'Army- and Navy-specific equipment, including watercraft, piers, and causeways, as well as command, control, and communications systems was not interoperable.'
This week's report follows a similar review by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of the Inspector General from August 2024 — which found Biden charged ahead with the $230 million pier despite the urgings of multiple federal aid workers.
Army officials interviewed by the DoD OIG noted that 'the lack of interoperability created challenges during (the Gaza operation), resulting in equipment damage and communications security risks,' according to the report.
US Central Command reported 62 injuries during the course of Operation Neptune Solace, though the report said it was unclear whether they happened 'during the performance of duties or resulted off duty or from pre-existing medical conditions.'
The Pentagon had previously confirmed that three service members were injured May 23, 2024, as the result of a non-combat incident during the operation.
One of those injured, Army Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, died Oct. 31 while under long-term medical care.
The Biden White House had expected that it would allow delivery of enough provisions to feed an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians over a three-month period.
But the pier ultimately delivered less than a third of that for roughly 450,000 Palestinians before it was decommissioned on July 17, according to the USAID report.
The report also found serious issues with the planning of the operation, noting the pier's designers 'did not fully consider mission-specific information requirements, such as beach conditions, average sea states, and other factors that affect the ability to successfully plan and conduct JLOTS operations.'
A Pentagon spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Originally published as Joe Biden Gaza pier fiasco left 62 US forces injured, one dead and caused $48 million in damages: report
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"To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists - I will say this clearly: you should turn back, because you will not make it to Gaza," he said in a statement. Thunberg, a climate campaigner, is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war. The activists had said they planned to reach the Gaza Strip's territorial waters as early as Sunday. Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian activist on board the boat, posted a video on social media on Sunday afternoon saying someone appeared to be jamming their tracking and communication devices about 160 nautical miles from the strip. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. After a two and a half month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into the Gaza Strip last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israeli forces ends their military offensive. An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach the Gaza Strip by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship. Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of the territory's roughly two million Palestinians. Israel sealed the Gaza Strip off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 but later relented under US pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports including food, fuel and medicine. Hamas-led militants killed about 1200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages, more than half of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It does not say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. Israel's government has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip. Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would not allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms. "To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists - I will say this clearly: you should turn back, because you will not make it to Gaza," he said in a statement. Thunberg, a climate campaigner, is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war. The activists had said they planned to reach the Gaza Strip's territorial waters as early as Sunday. Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian activist on board the boat, posted a video on social media on Sunday afternoon saying someone appeared to be jamming their tracking and communication devices about 160 nautical miles from the strip. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. After a two and a half month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into the Gaza Strip last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israeli forces ends their military offensive. An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach the Gaza Strip by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship. Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of the territory's roughly two million Palestinians. Israel sealed the Gaza Strip off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 but later relented under US pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports including food, fuel and medicine. Hamas-led militants killed about 1200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages, more than half of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It does not say whether those killed are civilians or combatants.
