The US military’s humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza, which has been hampered by bad weather and aid distribution problems, will shut down soon, President Joe Biden’s administration said.
Biden announced in March plans to put the pier in place for aid deliveries as famine loomed in Gaza, an enclave of 2.3 million people.
While the pier has brought in 8,100 metric tonnes of aid to a marshaling area on Gaza’s shore since it started operating in May, the 370-meter-long floating pier has had to be removed multiple times because of bad weather.
Much of the aid has not reached hungry Gazans after the UN World Food Programme paused operations in June because of security concerns.
Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said the military unsuccessfully tried to re-anchor the pier on Wednesday. There was no new date for re-anchoring, but the effort would soon end.
“The pier has always been intended as a temporary solution to enable the additional flow of aid into Gaza during a period of dire humanitarian need ... the pier will soon cease operations,” Ryder said.
US officials said the pier operations could shift to the Israeli port of Ashdod as soon as next week, when aid meant for the pier in Cyprus could dry up.
