After weeks of totally NOT reporting on the floating disaster known colloquially as Port Biden, the U.S. military-built temporary pier intended to assist humanitarian relief deliveries into Gaza, the network evening newscasts have each filed reports from the beleaguered pier.
Reasonable individuals may question the timing of such reports, 48 hours from the upcoming presidential debate. It looks like a news dump, walks like a news dump, and quacks like a news dump. The most serious of these reports comes via the NBC Nightly News (click “expand’ to view transcript):
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
6/25/24
6:39 PM
LESTER HOLT: Now to the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The U.S. built a $220 million pier to get aid flowing into the war-torn enclave, but in the 40 days since deliveries began, it's been hit by several setbacks. Courtney Kube now with a rare, up-close look.
COURTNEY KUBE: You can see the beach from this American pier off Gaza. Tonight, our first look at the structure which has allowed the U.S. military to deliver much-needed aid by sea.
It took about an hour to get from the Israeli port of Ashdod to here. This is JLOTS (Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability). It’s a temporary U.S. military pier system meant to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. But even after about six weeks of operating, the U.S. military has seen it has some limitations. Including weather. High seas and winds damaged the embattled pier last month, forcing the U.S. to drag it back to Israel for repairs. The weather here today is calm, so aid is moving. But once these waves get to about four feet high, the pier has to be taken apart and moved, or it risks being damaged. President Biden unveiled the pier with great fanfare during his "State of the union."
JOE BIDEN: A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.
KUBE: It cost American taxpayers over $220 million but has only delivered aid on 17 of the last 40 days.
It's been on line 17 days of the last six weeks, mainly for weather. So when you look at that, is -- do you still feel that this mission is -- has been a success?
SERVICE MEMBER: Yeah. Absolutely. And let me point out why. One, as a commander. Personal. My soldiers and sailors have stepped up. We know the weather got us. And when it did, they stepped up.
KUBE: The day's deliveries were made. The U.S. military brought nearly 14 million pounds of aid- often the main contributor to Gaza on any given day. The beach area takes indirect fire nearly every day, according to defense officials. The pier has not been targeted. But aid agencies suspended distribution and haven't delivered that aid since June 9th. Now about 11.5 million pounds of aid are sitting in scorching heat in the sun where it can't help the Asilah family. "We live in a tent and eat canned food, and our children stand in line to get water. The aid is not always available”, she says. The American military mission and the pier are expected to leave in the next six weeks.
Several things distinguish NBC from the rest of their Regime Media peers: first, the direct tie of President Joe Biden to the failed pier. CBS’s report, for example, only mentions Biden in passing. Specifically, Imtiaz Tyab grumbling that Biden should’ve pressured Israel into opening all their Gaza checkpoints- par the course for Tyab’s consistently Hamas-friendly coverage. Over on ABC, Biden draws as many mentions as you’d expect on the most aggressively Biden-servile evening network newscast: that is, none at all.
Also, NBC mentions the fact that the United States is “often” the main distributor of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, a fact not presented on ABC or CBS. But what goes largely unmentioned here is the reason why there is such difficulty for aid to flow into Gaza. CBS’s Imtiaz Tyab mentions it in passing:
IMTIAZ TYAB: Before the October 7th attacks, over 500 truckloads of aid would enter Gaza in a single day.
That part of the equation misses throughout these reports, likewise the part where the aid doesn’t make it to Gazans because Hamas loots it and shoots Gazans trying to get food for themselves.
On the one hand, it is nice to finally see everyone reporting on the failure of Port Biden. On the other hand, this is clearly an info dump that’ll vanish from memory ahead of the presidential debate and the remaining Supreme Court docket.
Click “expand” to view the transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective network newscasts on Tuesday, June 25th, 2024:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
6/24/24
6:41 PM
DAVID MUIR:Tonight, to Gaza, where, for the first time, Martha Raddatz on the $230 million U.S.-built pier off Gaza that was built to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, caught in the middle of this war. Tonight, Martha from the pier on the security concerns and the challenges keeping this up and running.
MARTHA RADDATZ: It is a pounding, scorching hot ride aboard a U.S. Navy vessel. One hour in the Mediterranean Sea along Israel's shore to reach Gaza, and get our first look at the $230 million U.S.-built pier in an active war zone.
As we pull up to the floating pier, just off of Gaza, we changed into body armor, from our life preservers.
SERVICE MEMBER: Make your way over here, please.
RADDATZ: Soldiers with automatic weapons standing guard.
SERVICE MEMBER: If it goes off and we say incoming, that means we have a rocket, artillery or mortar coming in here.
RADDATZ: Just off that pier, the devastation is breathtaking. Miles of bombed-out, flattened neighborhoods as far as the eye can see. Smoke billowing out even as we watch. Seeing the destruction of Gaza behind me makes you realize how important humanitarian missions are to get food into Gaza, but it is also obvious how difficult it is on this floating pier. You feel it go up and down, and you can hear the clanging, as well. Truckloads of aid rolling off that boat, carefully driven down that pier, into Gaza. While there are no boots on the ground on this mission, on the shores of Gaza, they do get within 50 feet. But this massive undertaking with up to 1,000 U.S. service members involved in building, protecting, and manning the pier, has suffered multiple setbacks. Only delivering aid 17 out of the 39 days it became operational. You know that your critics when they read how many times this has broken down or you had to stop, say, this is really not doing that much good, it's just cover?
JOEL STEWART: There's that. I understand there are critics of that. But the sea is a violent mistress. She is demanding. And each time that we have taken damage, we've come back stronger.
RADDATZ: The pier is authorized for use through the end of July, but that may be extended because even though Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that the most intense period of the war may be winding down, that does not mean Palestinians won't need massive amounts of aid for a very long time. David?
MUIR: Well, Martha Raddatz, that was extraordinary access off Gaza tonight. We thank you and the team. Martha back in Tel Aviv now. Thank you.
CBS EVENING NEWS
CBS EVENING NEWS
6/24/24
6:36 PM
NORAH O’DONNELL: Well, senior U.N. officials have told Israel they'll suspend aid operations across Gaza unless urgent steps are taken to better protect humanitarian workers. That's according to the Associated Press. CBS's Imtiaz Tyab tonight reports about that floating pier built by the U.S. military to help get much-needed aid into Gaza. Well, it has been more time being fixed than delivering food.
IMTIAZ TYAB: We traveled across the eastern Mediterranean with U.S. forces, to Gaza's devastated central coast, among the first journalists to visit the $230 million humanitarian platform, where we saw trucks carrying pallets of food aid into the besieged Palestinian territory. Since this pier became operational two months ago, only around 400 aid trucks like this have come off it. The need in Gaza, just over there, is desperate. Before the October 7th attacks, over 500 truckloads of aid would enter Gaza in a single day.
SERVICE MEMBER: All I know is my objective is to get as many supplies as I can into Gaza for the people of Gaza.
TYAB: The pier has been plagued by problems and has only been fully operational for a total of 16 days. But when Israeli forces rescued four hostages in Gaza earlier this month, in an operation that killed over 270 Palestinians, an Israeli military helicopter was seen taking off from the beach in front of the pier, prompting the World Food Programme to suspend operations there over concerns it had been compromised.
SERVICE MEMBER: This is a humanitarian pier. It was not part of any operation. It's focused on humanitarian assistance, and that's my mission.
TYAB: And critics of the pier say President Biden should have instead focused on pressuring Israel to reopen all land crossings for aid trucks into Gaza, but administration officials seem determined to make it work, saying the pier will likely remain operational even longer than originally planned. Norah.
O’DONNELL: Imtiaz Tyab, thank you very much.
