JUST IN: Pentagon Holds Press Briefing After Announcing End Of Gaza Aid Pier Operations

2 months ago

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh held a press briefing.

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Transcript

00:00Okay. Hello, good afternoon. All right, just a few things here at the top and then happy to jump in

00:07and take your questions. Yesterday, the Secretary of the Navy exonerated 258 black sailors who were

00:14unjustly court-martialed in the wake of the devastating explosion at the Port of Chicago

00:19Naval Magazine in California, which killed 320 sailors on July 17, 1944. After a thorough review

00:28of the case and related materials, the General Counsel of the Navy concluded that there were

00:32significant legal errors during the court's martial and that the defendants were improperly

00:38tried together despite conflicting interests and denied a meaningful right to counsel.

00:43Secretary Austin applauded the Navy's legal review and decision to ensure our service members,

00:49our military families, and our civilian employees are treated with fairness and dignity,

00:54especially within our military justice systems.

00:57Switching gears, as you know, U.S. Central Command has been executing operations to

01:02surge humanitarian aid into Gaza through air, land, and sea. Yesterday, the Department of

01:08Defense announced that its temporary pier, or the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore Capability

01:14that has been used to surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza through a maritime corridor,

01:18has concluded its operations. With collaboration from 12 nations, international partners,

01:24USAID, and their families, and our civilian and military justice systems.

01:30Switching gears, as you know, U.S. Central Command has been executing operations to surge

01:35humanitarian aid into Gaza through air, land, and sea. Yesterday, the Department of Defense

01:41announced that its temporary pier, or the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore Capability

01:47that has been used to surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza through a maritime corridor,

01:51has concluded its operations. With collaboration from 12 nations, international partners, USAID,

01:58and the United Nations, the temporary pier successfully delivered nearly 20 million pounds

02:04of aid, which is the highest volume of humanitarian assistance the U.S. military has ever delivered

02:09into the Middle East. The temporary pier achieved its goal of providing an additive means of

02:15delivering high volumes of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. In the coming days, CENTCOM

02:21will work with USAID to deliver the remaining aid commodities currently afloat to the Port of

02:26Ashdod in Israel for onward distribution to Gaza, and will provide coordination and liaison support

02:33for humanitarian aid deliveries at the request of USAID when appropriate. And finally, the Chairman

02:40of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C.Q. Brown, Jr., met today with the Japanese State Minister

02:45of Defense, Japan Chief of Staff, and the Chairman of the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff

02:51in Tokyo. The military leaders discussed progress on the trilateral defense relationship,

02:57exchange assessments on the regional security situation, stressed the importance of enhancing

03:02close trilateral coordination in response to the provocation posed by the DPRK,

03:07and reaffirmed their positions regarding the escalatory, dangerous, and aggressive behavior

03:13by the People's Republic of China throughout the region. The tri-Chad leaders underscored

03:18that U.S.-Japan ROK security cooperation is critical not only to the security and prosperity

03:24of the Indo-Pacific region, but also to their shared global interest to ensure peace and stability in

03:30the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific, and beyond. And with that, I'd be happy to take

03:35your questions. Lita. Hi. Thanks, Sabrina. Can you just clarify a couple of things on the pier?

03:42The Army boats were used all along to transfer the aid from the floating dock to the Trident pier.

03:51Will they be used to take aid from the dock, if there's any left there, to Ashdod at all,

03:59do you know? And just a couple of points on that. Sure. Sorry, just for clarification,

04:04which dock are you referring to? The pier itself? The aid came from Cyprus to the big floating

04:14dock that was several miles offshore. The Army boats were used to take the aid from there

04:19to the Trident pier. Oh, I see what you're saying.

04:22Are they going to be used to take the aid from the floating dock to Ashdod?

04:30I believe, from my understanding, it's the aid that's on our ships right now will just be

04:34offloaded in Ashdod and then driven by contracted drivers or drivers that the WFP have identified

04:41into Israel. I'm not aware that those Army boats will have a role in that because the aid is

04:45already on the ships that would then pull into Ashdod and have it be directly transloaded.

04:50And are these largely the DOT and commercial ships, or are these also Navy ships?

04:57It's my understanding that these are U.S. military ships that have the aid.

05:01And as you heard Vice Admiral Cooper yesterday say, that we are committed to making sure that

05:07the aid that has been transloaded onto our ships is transloaded off of our ships into Ashdod for

05:13further distribution into Gaza. So are these ships that are in Cyprus,

05:17or are these ships that are at the pier? I believe these are ships that are making

05:20its way or already at the pier. Look, this is ongoing, moving. I believe also there's,

05:27you know, a few million pounds of aid that are on each of our vessels that need to be transloaded

05:33off. So it's going to take some time. We're committed to doing that. But how we do that,

05:38for more specifics, you know, I'd direct you to CENTCOM just for more specifics if you want,

05:42like, specific ships. But we're just committed to making sure that that aid gets to Gaza.

05:47OK. And is that all in addition to the five million pounds of aid that Admiral Cooper

05:54yesterday said was still in Cyprus? I believe what Admiral Cooper was

05:57referring to is there five million pounds of aid total between Cyprus and on the ships

06:01that will get moved through the Ashdod corridor down into Gaza. So it's a total figure.

06:07Last question. Will the military be involved at all in what is the future plan now to deliver

06:15aid from Cyprus directly to the Ashdod pier and then from the pier into Gaza? Will the military

06:23have a role in that other than the coordination cell? Our role will mainly shift to an advisory

06:29role. In the immediate future, we're going to maintain some coordination elements that have

06:38been in place, such as the coordination cell that you know is in Cyprus and in Israel. We want to

06:42make sure that aid is going to continue to flow into Gaza. But this new route that aid flows

06:48through Ashdod will ultimately be managed by USAID and other humanitarian organizations. So I'd

06:54include the World Food Program in that as well. OK. So then the coordination cell participation?

07:00Right now, the coordination cell is still stood up and will remain in place for a short time in

07:06the immediate. But we are working to ensure that all the aid gets into Gaza. And in order to do

07:14that from what's on our ships and what's still at Cyprus, that coordination cell is still stood up.

07:21Yes.

07:21Thank you. So I have a couple on Ukraine, then one on the Gaza Pier problem. So

07:26we heard Republican Vice President, Mr. Vance, has repeatedly argued against military aid to Ukraine.

07:33And he said that the U.S., I quote, lacks the capacity to manufacture the amount of weapons

07:37Ukraine needs to win the war, in particular, one in 55-millimeter shells and Patriot interceptors.

07:44What can you say to that?

07:46So as you can appreciate, not going to comment on political speeches or the campaign. But I think

07:54what you've seen from this department and from this administration is a commitment to Ukraine

07:58for as long as it takes. And that's what we're focused on. I think it's important to remember,

08:04too, that under this administration, we've invigorated our defense industrial base.

08:09And we are creating jobs right here at home when it comes to manufacturing 155-millimeter rounds

08:14and other capabilities that are not only enhancing our defense industrial base,

08:18but helping the Ukrainians. I also would push back on the notion that Ukraine can't win this war.

08:25We have seen them be incredibly successful on the battlefield.

08:28They continue to dig in and push the Russians back.

08:34This was never going to be over in a day. This is going to take time.

08:38And it has taken time. And it's going to continue to take time.

08:41And the support that Ukraine has garnered from all around the world, I think,

08:49is a true testament to the United States' also commitment to them.

08:55Appreciate the question, but I can only really speak to what the department is doing and what

08:59we're committed to doing. All right. Can you... Do you have a breakdown of

09:03how much funding has been allocated from this latest supplemental

09:07for military aid packages to Ukraine and how much is still left?

09:11I don't have a breakdown from allocations of different PDA packages from the supplemental

09:18when it was last authorized. We've put out a press release every time we've authorized

09:24a drawdown package or a USAI. So I just encourage you to look back on what we have announced.

09:28I just don't have that breakdown by package in front of me.

09:32The latest on the Gaza pier. So what ultimately led to the decision to dismantle the pier before

09:37all aid from Cyprus arrived in Gaza? And is there a final cost for the Gaza pier?

09:42Because we heard Vice Admiral Cooper said it came in under cost.

09:48Yeah. So I'll take the cost first and then can address your other question.

09:51In terms of the cost, we're still doing our assessments. So we'll have more to share with you

09:58in hopefully the following days and weeks. We do expect it to come a little under budget,

10:04but we'll keep you updated. I just don't have a final number on that.

10:07In terms of why, well, I mean, again, as we've always said from the beginning,

10:11we always said this was going to be a temporary measure that was put into place.

10:16We are certainly aware and as you have reported on some of the weather conditions and environmental

10:24factors that have faced the pier. We know that sea states were going to get worse as the summer

10:29progressed. That is something that was always known. But I think what's important to remember

10:35is that all the aid that was in Cyprus or has gone to Cyprus has either been transloaded off

10:43of that temporary pier or will be moved into Ashdod. So we've moved out almost every single

10:47piece of aid that has come in through Cyprus. So I think that's very important to remember.

10:52I also think that it's important to remember that this pier delivered the highest volume

10:57of humanitarian assistance the U.S. military has ever delivered to the Middle East. So I know there

11:03have been criticisms and I know from some people here in this room, and I know that there have been

11:10some setbacks when it has come to the pier. But at the end of the day,

11:14we delivered nearly 20 million pounds of aid. And I think that is a real testament to the

11:21commitment of our personnel at CENTCOM and the commitment to also ensuring that other avenues

11:28opened up, such as the Ashdod Corridor. Natasha. Thanks, Sabrina. So just one clarifying question.

11:34So yesterday, Admiral Cooper, he told reporters that at least for the near term, quote,

11:38we expect to use the same vessels that have been transporting aid from Cyprus to the pier,

11:43now using those same vessels transporting aid from Cyprus to Ashdod. But you said a few minutes ago,

11:49I think that it would be mostly an advisory role. So which is it? Is it advisory role or is it

11:53actually the military transporting this aid, continuing to transport the aid from Cyprus

11:56to Ashdod now? So once we complete the transfer of aid of the, like, I think Admiral Cooper

12:02mentioned about 5 million pounds of aid still needs to be loaded off of our ships. That's when

12:09our role will transition into more of an advisory role. But we have to complete that transfer of

12:14aid. So it's not like the aid is going to sit on our ships and all of a sudden, it's not going to

12:19move off or go anywhere. We're going to help, of course, with offloading it into Ashdod.

12:24And then once that aid moves off into Ashdod and moves into Gaza, this is going to be a mission

12:31that, you know, transitions into a next phase, which will be managed by USAID and other partners.

12:37Liz.

12:37Thanks. Earlier this week, there was some reporting that Al-Assad Air Base in Iraq

12:42was targeted by some Iranian proxy drones. Do you have any details of what happened?

12:48How many were shot down?

12:50Yeah, thanks, Liz, for the question. So that's correct. On July 16th, two one-way attack UAS

12:56systems attacked U.S. and coalition forces at Al-Assad Air Base in Iraq. One system was

13:03successfully destroyed and one impacted the base, but it caused minimal damage. Yeah, Konstantin.

13:09Thanks. So the National Guard Bureau chief, General Hoganson, is retiring in two weeks,

13:14I believe. A new replacement for him has not been announced. Has the Pentagon sent

13:20a recommendation or a name to the White House?

13:23Yeah, so as you know, all nominations and announcements will come from the White House.

13:27I don't have anything to read out today and certainly wouldn't get into conversations

13:31that we're having with the White House. But when we have that announcement ready to be made,

13:35it will be public.

13:37I mean, it looks like we're setting up a situation where there's basically not going

13:41to be a transition period between Hoganson and whoever replaces him. Is there any concern from

13:47the Pentagon that there's not a replacement ready to go?

13:50Again, I, no, there is not. Yes, Charlie.

13:55Sabrina, forgive me this question. Is there any reaction from Defense Secretary Austin

14:00after President Biden appeared to blank his name in a recent interview?

14:05I've seen that clip and I will say that I would urge you to look at the full context

14:11of the clip as he was answering a question, I believe, more about the administration more

14:16broadly, but would refer you to the White House for more of his comments.

14:21The secretary has absolute confidence in the president. He was just with the president for

14:28at least two days at the NATO summit, spent many, many hours with him in bilateral meetings,

14:33was there for his press conference. He has absolute confidence in the president.

14:37But no reaction from the specific interview?

14:40No reaction from the specific interview,

14:41other than that he has absolute confidence in the president.

14:45Yeah. Yes.

14:46Thank you, Sabrina. Recently UNRWA has been announced that five of their schools in Gaza

14:51has been targeted by the Israeli military in the last 10 days, and these schools were using as

14:58refugee camps. So these strikes came despite of calls from the secretary Austin to his Israeli

15:06counterpart to take all necessary steps to minimize civilian harm. Do you believe that

15:12the Israeli take this warning seriously? And what do you say about that?

15:16So I haven't seen, and I apologize, I haven't seen the exact reports that you're referencing.

15:22We do believe that the Israelis do take our concerns seriously.

15:27Civilian casualties and the need to reduce civilian casualties is a topic of conversation

15:33on almost every single call that the secretary has done with Minister Gallant. And that continues not

15:38just at his level, but at other levels throughout this building and the interagency. So it's

15:44something that we take very seriously. We think our concerns are being heard. We have seen behaviors

15:49change. There is absolutely the need, and there must be more done. But I just can't address those

15:58specific reports, unfortunately. I just haven't seen them. Yeah. Yeah, Noah.

16:02I'm wondering if you have any reaction to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday

16:07saying that they were shutting down talks with the U.S. on arms control in response to objections

16:12over weapon sales to Taiwan. Have you seen that statement? And do you have any thoughts on the

16:18future of arms control going forward? Yeah, I'm just not going to respond to

16:22the statement. But I can tell you that we have a commitment to the one China policy.

16:28You've seen the secretary continue to raise concerns about the PRC's behavior within the

16:34region. And as I read out at the top, the chairman was just there in the region, not only deepening

16:40ties there, but also raising concerns about some of the behavior and activity that we're seeing.

16:45So I'll just leave it at that. There was also some confusion on when they

16:50were actually paused, whether it took place earlier in the summer after New President Lai's

16:54speech in Taiwan, or whether it actually was cut yesterday or this week. Do you have any sense on

16:59that? Yeah, I'm just not going to be able to provide more on that. But thank you. Yes.

17:03Thanks. I wanted to ask if you could give us an update, if possible, on the AUKUS agreement.

17:07Are there any next steps? I thought I heard plans to make an announcement this fall.

17:14I don't know if that was under pillar two or just other steps in the AUKUS agreement.

17:18I don't have any announcements today. But certainly when it comes to AUKUS,

17:21and I know that's something that has been of interest, we always, of course,

17:25make those and read those out. But I just don't have anything for you today.

17:27Thank you. Yeah, of course. Yes.

17:30Thank you, Sabrin. With the attack on al-Assad's airbase, do you know specifically which group

17:35launched the attack? No, I don't. I don't have specifics to name or I don't have a specific

17:40group. We know that these are IRGC-backed militias that have launched these attacks on

17:46U.S. forces in the past. Most likely the not. It is, you know, one of those affiliate groups,

17:54but I can't give you specifics other than that. One more. From a military perspective,

17:58how do you look at the attempts by Turkey and Syria to normalize their relations? Does it come

18:05up with any U.S. policy change in case these two states reach a point that normalize their ties?

18:12Yeah, I just don't have anything for you on that. You know, we have our own relationship with

18:17Turkey. We'll continue to engage our counterparts there, but I just don't have more for you on that

18:21one. Liz. Thanks. Just to follow up on that al-Assad attack, was this the first attack on a

18:26U.S. military base in the Middle East since February? Yes, that's correct. And is there any

18:32sense that these attacks from these proxy groups are going to resume or do you think this was a

18:36one-off? Can't predict the future. As you know, you know, when we also speculate on that and can't

18:44get into intelligence matters, but we certainly don't want to see these attacks resume on our

18:48forces. And we've made that clear both, you know, publicly and privately. I just, I can't speculate

18:56on the future of, you know, we're always going to take measures to protect our forces. And I'll

19:01just leave it at that. Okay. Yes, Jared, and then I'll hop over. Real quick follow up on the al-Assad

19:07attack. Has the United States responded to this in any way or are there plans to do so?

19:11Well, we shot down one of the UAS systems. So I think that'd be a response. I'm not going to get

19:18ahead of any military decisions or operations. Moshe. Have there been any attacks in Syria as well?

19:26There was not an attack. One of our, the U.S. and coalition forces did destroy one uncrewed aerial

19:36system near Green Village, but we don't have an assessment of what the intended target was.

19:41So I wouldn't say that, I wouldn't characterize that as an attack, but they did destroy it

19:45out of an abundance of caution. An incident did happen in Syria?

19:49Yes. Yes, an incident did happen in Syria. They did, our forces did shoot down one UAS system,

19:57but again, it's unclear what the intended target was. And there was no injuries,

20:01no damaged infrastructure resulting from this. Okay, Matt, and then I'll go into the back.

20:06Just staying on that topic, can you say anything about Iran's possible role in that attack? We

20:10talked about these Iran-backed groups. Is it just broadly Iran-backed or do you think that any

20:15more direct hand in this particular attack? I don't have any more information. I think we can

20:21assess that these are Iranian-backed groups that launched this attack. We've seen this behavior

20:27before. We certainly don't want to see an escalation on our forces in the region. And so

20:33we're going to, of course, take the proper measures that we need to ensure their safety and security,

20:38but I don't have more for you other than that. Thanks.

20:41Okay, Lita, and then one more in the back. Just to clarify, wasn't there an attack on

20:45a U.S. base in Syria in April? I believe we did shoot down

20:52something in April, but I don't know that the intended target was the base.

20:56Okay, because I thought that this was the first attack since April. You're saying it's the first

21:01since? I'm tracking it since February. Yes. Yeah. Yes, one more.

21:06Thank you. Regarding to the attacks on the Assad base, have you communicate with the Iraqi

21:12government? And do you believe that they are doing enough to stop these kinds of attacks? And did you

21:16get any signs, like before these attacks happened, from the Iraqi government of the officials there?

21:23We have a great partnership with the Iraqi government. I'm not going to get into private

21:26conversations, as we never do from the podium. But we believe that we're taking the proper

21:32measures to ensure security and safety of our forces. We'll continue to engage our Iraqi

21:37partners on the ground. But I don't have more for you. All right. Okay. Thanks, everyone.

JUST IN: Pentagon Holds Press Briefing After Announcing End Of Gaza Aid Pier Operations

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