WASHINGTON, June 15 — The United States military is preparing to temporarily remove its humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza due to forecasted sea conditions, a Washington official said yesterday, the latest challenge to the effort that has been hampered by bad weather since it was put in place in May.
The floating United States military pier off Gaza had just resumed bringing humanitarian aid into the enclave after being suspended over the weekend.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the pier would likely be moved to the Israeli port of Ashdod until sea conditions improve.
Aid began arriving via the Washington-built pier on May 17, and the United Nations said it transported 137 trucks of aid to warehouses, some 900 metric tonnes, before the United States announced on May 28 it had suspended operations so repairs could be made.
The United Nations said yesterday it had still not resumed transport of aid from the pier to United Nations World Food Programme warehouses.
“Our security colleagues are working to ensure secure conditions for humanitarian work can be re-established,” said deputy United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq.
United States President Joe Biden announced in March the plan to put the pier in place for aid deliveries as famine loomed in Gaza, a Hamas-run enclave of 2.3 million people, during the war between Israel and the Palestinian militants.
The pier is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars for the first 90 days and involve about 1,000 United States service members.
— Reuters
