Cyprus-Gaza aid jetty repairs ongoing

Repair work is ongoing on the temporary jetty placed off the coast of Gaza which broke apart last month during high winds, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday.

She added that United States forces are also continuing their efforts to recover two ships which were beached when the jetty broke apart.

All four of the boats which washed ashore when the jetty broke apart were initially expected to be recovered and taken to Ashdod by the end of May 30, but progress has been slow thus far.

 “I believe the army vessels just did take on a lot of water and sand, so the recovery efforts are proving to be a little more difficult,” Singh explained.

“We are working with the Israeli navy to make sure they can be pushed back and will be operational.”

She was keen to point out that the fate of the washed-up ships “does not impact the rebuilding of the jetty itself”, and that the jetty’s repairs and reconstruction is “on track for the timeline we had set”.

Regarding operations in Cyprus, she had no update to her statements last week when she said aid was being “preloaded onto our vessels” so that it could arrive and be distributed as soon as the jetty is back in place and operational once more.

She added on Monday that the US Agency for International Development (USAid) is “working with other partners to distribute aid that’s on Cyprus”.

Last week, she had said USAid were attempting to figure out “faster, efficient ways to get the aid that’s already in Cyprus into Gaza”.

She had said a week ago that repairs to the jetty would take “at least over a week”. The aid corridor’s problems come days after a total of 20 humanitarian aid agencies described the jetty’s creation as a “cosmetic change”.

Reacting to recent events in Gaza, including the bombing of a tent camp by Israel, they said, “the ability of aid groups and medical teams to respond has now all but crumbled, with temporary fixes such as a ‘floating jetty’ and new crossing points having little impact.”

They added that “systematic obstruction”, “intensified hostilities”, and “prolonged telecommunications blackouts” by the Israeli authorities have reduced the volume of aid entering Gaza to its lowest level in the last seven months.

“Announcements of additional crossing points and initiatives, including the new ‘floating jetty’, have given an illusion of improvement, but have largely amounted to cosmetic changes,” they said.