U.S. to sideline Gaza pier and suspend aid deliveries again
U.S. to sideline Gaza pier and suspend aid deliveries again
The Pentagon will again sideline its floating pier off the Gaza coast, used haltingly to bring humanitarian aid to starving Palestinians, as U.S. military personnel attempt to relocate and shelter the structure from another blast of rough seas, American officials said Friday.
Commanders overseeing the operation intend to tow the pier to the Israeli port of Ashdod imminently, military officials with U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the region, said in a statement. The impending order represents a more cautious approach to dealing with adverse conditions that have dogged the mission from its outset, said two U.S. officials familiar with the operation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.
“The safety of our service members is a top priority and temporarily relocating the pier will prevent structural damage caused by the heightened sea state,” the Central Command statement said. “The decision to temporarily relocate the pier is not made lightly but is necessary to ensure the temporary pier can continue to deliver aid in the future.”
The pier will be re-anchored to the Gazan coastline “after the period of expected high seas,” the statement added.
It was less than a week ago when U.S. troops resumed aid deliveries over the pier after powerful waves ripped it apart May 25, causing an estimated $22 million in damage and sidelining the operation for days while personnel repaired and reassembled it.
Hundreds of tons of food and other badly needed supplies were brought ashore in recent days but have not made their way inland, officials have said. Though Gazan civilians trapped by the fighting between Israel’s military and Hamas militants face dire circumstances, the World Food Program, responsible for the distribution of aid moved over the pier, suspended operations this week after an Israeli hostage-rescue operation on June 8 left scores of Palestinians dead. They are expected to resume pending a review “to ensure that secure conditions for humanitarian work can be re-established,” U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said Friday.
Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said this week that for now, the aid is being held at a staging area on shore.
The pier is kept out at sea, with a long, steel causeway used to deliver trucks ashore. U.S. forces, assisted by their Israeli counterparts, had reattached the structure to the coast a day before the bloodshed.
CNN reported Thursday that the Pentagon was considering dismantling the pier temporarily.
The pier is part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to get food and other necessities to starving Gazans as Israel continues its war against Hamas. But it is challenging to use when waves exceed two to three feet in height, according to past assessments in military journals. Regional forecasts show that waves could grow upward of three feet Sunday and possibly four feet Monday.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, a senior U.S. military official overseeing the project, declined last week to say how the military would respond if waves grew in size again, saying only that a “series of plans” were in place if necessary.
“Until then, our goal is … to maximize the amount of humanitarian assistance over the pier,” he said.
Security analysts also have raised concerns that the pier could be vulnerable to attack by Hamas or other militant groups. Senior Pentagon officials have said that U.S. and Israeli officials have taken precautions to protect the structure.
About 2,500 tons of aid have been delivered over the pier since it was re-anchored to the Gazan beach about a week ago, Central Command said. An additional 1,000 tons were delivered over it from May 17 to May 25, before it was ripped apart.