<p>The legacy media has turned a blind eye to the disaster of the Gaza aid pier and the new revelation that the US military seems to have used it for operating in Gaza. What started on social media as allegations has compelled an official denial from the Pentagon amidst the appearance of a leaked cable.</p>



<p>Constructed as an emergency project by the US military off the Gaza coast with the official narrative that it is meant to help deliver humanitarian aid to starving Palestinians, the aid pier worth $320 million broke apart last month, just two weeks after its construction. The Biden administration promised a repair that took over a week. But it remained operational for only a day before the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) announced the suspension of its food distribution via the pier over safety concerns.</p>



<p>The pro-establishment media spared the Biden administration any criticism over its shaky construction of the pier and failure in protecting the aid as reports of aid convoys looted by Palestinians made news. More so, the Pentagon has gone on the defensive in a damage-control response to social media posts that claim the presence of the US military on the ground in Gaza.</p>



<p>On June 8, independent journalist Ken Klippenstein published a diplomatic cable leaked to him that seems to admit the presence of the US military in Gaza. Klippenstein posted an image of the official correspondence, dated June 3, from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to the Secretary of State. The cable calls the social media posts of US military presence in Gaza a “growing narrative of disinformation.” However, Klippenstein noted in his post:</p>



<p><em>But the same cable refers to American air defense and counter-drone weapons “positioned on land”, raising two questions: Is it the land in Gaza? And if so, why isn’t this “boots on the ground”?</em></p>



<p>Klippenstein also posted the cable to his X account, pointing to the fact that the pier was paid for and positioned by the Pentagon.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Diplomatic cable leaked to me reveals Biden admin is worried about social media posts claiming its Gaza aid pier will lead to US military involvement in the area, which it calls “disinformation” — despite the fact the pier was paid for and positioned by the Pentagon! <br><br>Read the… <a href="https://t.co/T6TGiHJ8Hq">pic.twitter.com/T6TGiHJ8Hq</a></p>&mdash; Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/kenklippenstein/status/1799542891288633496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p><br><br>Klippenstein also wondered about the inability of the State Department to notice the apparent contradiction in the diplomatic cable that at once acknowledges and denies the US military presence in Gaza. He wrote: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">What is even worse is that the State Department authors don’t even seem to notice the contradiction, that while Washington says that there are no boots on the ground, the soldiers (or Marines) operating the air defense and counter-drone equipment are “on land.”</i></p>



<p>Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who exposed the Obama administration’s illegal spying on Americans in 2013, reposted Klippenstein’s diplomatic cable leak with a critical comment over mainstream media’s policy of silencing reporters, leading sources of information to confide in independent journalists.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Corporate media empires keep getting scooped by ";some guy on ЅÕ½bѕtаck";—and I&#39;m not surprised. When NYT/WaPo/WSJ/Fox/MSDNC so publicly (and ruthlessly) silence reporters for deviating from their official narratives, how can any serious source trust them to do right by a story? <a href="https://t.co/t4uGJWmPjD">https://t.co/t4uGJWmPjD</a></p>&mdash; Edward Snowden (@Snowden) <a href="https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1799627901253652803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>The function of the Gaza aid pier again drew controversy this week as the Pentagon on Monday denied that Israeli forces used the pier in its recent ground operation in Gaza that resulted in the rescue of four hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 last year. Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder was cited by Turkish news site <em>Yeni Şafak</em> saying:</p>



<p><em>“We&#8217;ve acknowledged that there was some type of helicopter activity nearby, but that was completely separate and not associated with the JLOTS operation. I can tell you that there was no US military involvement in this rescue operation, nor were there any US forces on the ground.”</em></p>



<p>Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has lately opposed the function of the Gaza aid pier, expressing concerns that the aid delivered via the pier will end up in the hands of Hamas while the pier’s function itself could put American servicemen at risk of attacks. On Monday, Senator Cruz posted a sound bite from his podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz” to his X account, announcing that he is going to force a vote under the War Powers Act to terminate the Gaza pier.</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am going to force a vote under the War Powers Act to terminate the Gaza pier.<br><br>Under Senate rules, Schumer cannot stop this vote.<br><br>The American people will see where each senator stands on sending resources to Hamas while Hamas has American hostages.<a href="https://t.co/eklY1rVIYd">https://t.co/eklY1rVIYd</a> <a href="https://t.co/RZq2Zs6QJD">pic.twitter.com/RZq2Zs6QJD</a></p>&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1800309469735170111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Leaked Cable: Is the US Military Operating in Gaza?
