The pier built by the US military to bring aid to Gaza has been removed due to weather to protect it, and the US is considering not re-installing it unless the aid begins flowing out into the population again, US officials said Friday, according to The Associated Press.
President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union address in March, announced the plans for the temporary pier on the coast of Gaza that would receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter and provide aid to the Strip.
However, the pier has continuously run into problems since it has been installed.
The pier was only operational for a week before a storm broke it apart and put back together.
Last week, US officials said the pier had been re-attached to the shore after being temporarily removed again days earlier due to poor sea conditions.
While the military has helped deliver food through the pier, the vast majority of it is still sitting in the adjacent storage yard and that area is almost full, AP reported. Aid agencies have had difficulty moving the food to areas further into Gaza where it is most needed because the humanitarian convoys have come under attack.
The UN has not been distributing food and other emergency supplies arriving through the pier since June 9.
Several US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements, told AP the military could reinstall the pier once the bad weather passes in the coming days, but the final decision on whether to reinstall it hasn’t been made.
Last week, The New York Times reported that the US pier has failed in its mission and may cease operations weeks ahead of schedule.
Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, acknowledged on Friday that she doesn’t know when the pier will be reinstalled.
“When the commander decides that it is the right time to reinstall that pier, we’ll keep you updated on that,” she said, adding that there is a need for more aid to come into Cyprus and be transported to the pier.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)