US military pier to Gaza disconnected; future uncertain
Pentagon officials Friday announced the pier, also known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) capability, was detached from its connection on the Gaza shoreline and was being moved to the Israeli port of Ashdod because of high seas.
It is not the first time the temporary pier has been taken offline because of rough weather off the coast of Gaza. And officials said, as with previous disruptions, they intend to monitor sea conditions before deciding what happens next.
"I don't have a date," said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh, briefing reporters Friday.
"The commander will continue to assess the sea states over the weekend,” she said. “We're going to continue to monitor the environmental and weather factors."
But even if the waters calm, there is a chance the temporary pier will not go back into service.
The U.S. credits the pier with helping to bring more than 8,800 metric tons of aid into Gaza since operations began. However, because of ongoing fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, much of the aid has not left the Gaza beach.
"We are pretty close to full on the marshaling yard in terms of how much aid is there," Singh said.
"If there's not enough room on the marshaling yard, then it doesn't make sense to put our men and women out there when there's nothing to move,” she said. “We do need to see that marshaling yard open up to allow for aid groups to continue that distribution so that we can get more aid in as we get it from Cyprus."
The U.N. World Food Program suspended distribution of aid coming in via the U.S. military pier on June 9, saying it was not confident its staff or the staff of partner agencies could move safely.
U.S. officials envisioned the temporary pier to Gaza, which has cost at least $230 million, as a supplemental route to deliver aid to civilians impacted by the fighting.
In recent weeks, however, it has become one of the main routes to get aid shipments into Gaza.
“The pier provided the second-highest volume of aid from any entry point into Gaza this past week,” Singh said, adding that more than 4,500 metric tons of aid had transited the pier over the past seven days.
But she said the U.S. remained engaged with Israel to try to make sure other avenues for delivering aid expand.
"We continue to urge for those land routes to be opened. That is the most effective way to get aid in," she said. "We continue to urge the Israelis to open up those crossings."