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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S.-built temporary pier that has been taking humanitarian aid to starving Palestinians for less than two weeks will be removed from the coast of Gaza to be repaired after getting damaged in rough seas and weather, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Over the next two days, the pier will be pulled from the beach and sent to the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, where U.S. Central Command will repair it, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters. She said the fixes will take “at least over a week” and then the pier will need to be anchored back into the beach in Gaza.
“From when it was operational, it was working, and we just had sort of an unfortunate confluence of weather storms that made it inoperable for a bit,” Singh said. “Hopefully just a little over a week, we should be back up and running.”
The pier, used to carry in humanitarian aid arriving by sea, is one of the few ways that free food and other supplies are getting to Palestinians who the U.N. says are on the brink of famine amid the nearly 8-month-old war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The two main crossings in southern Gaza, Rafah from Egypt and Kerem Shalom from Israel, are either not operating or are largely inaccessible for the U.N. because of fighting nearby as Israel pushes into Rafah. The pier and two crossings from Israel in northern Gaza are where most of the incoming humanitarian aid has entered in the past three weeks.
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The setback is the latest for the $320 million pier, which only began operations in the past two weeks and has already had three U.S. service members injured and had four vessels beached due to heavy seas. Two of the service members received minor injuries but the third is still in critical condition, Singh said.
Deliveries also were halted for two days last week after crowds rushed aid trucks coming from the pier and one Palestinian man was shot dead.
The pier was fully functional as late as Saturday when heavy seas unmoored four of the Army boats that were being used to ferry pallets of aid from commercial vessels to the pier. The system is anchored into the beach in Gaza and provided a long causeway for trucks to drive that aid onto the shore.
Two of the vessels got stuck on the coast of Israel. One has already been recovered and the other will be in the next 24 hours with the help of the Israeli military, Singh said. The other two boats were stranded on the beach in Gaza and were expected to be recovered in the next two days, she said.
AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports rough seas have damaged a U.S.-built temporary pier being used to get aid into Gaza.
The suspension of the pier comes after the new sea route had begun to pick up steam, with more than 1,000 metric tons of food aid delivered.
U.S. officials have repeatedly emphasized that the pier cannot provide the amount of aid that starving Gazans need and said that more checkpoints for humanitarian trucks need to be opened. At maximum capacity, the pier would bring in enough food for 500,000 of Gaza’s people, and U.S. officials have stressed the need for open land crossings for the remaining 1.8 million.
The U.S. also has planned to continue to provide airdrops of food, which likewise cannot meet all the needs.
A deepening Israeli offensive in the southern city of Rafah has made it impossible for aid shipments to get through the crossing there, which is a key source for fuel and food coming into Gaza. Israel says it is bringing aid in through another border crossing, Kerem Shalom, but humanitarian organizations say Israeli military operations make it difficult for them to retrieve the aid there for distribution.
FAQs
US military ends Gaza floating aid pier mission. The US military has ended its mission to operate a temporary floating pier to deliver more aid to the Gaza Strip, after it was beset by weather, technical and security problems.
Is there a pier in Gaza for aid? ›
The temporary pier enables the maritime delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza for distribution to the Palestinian people. Humanitarian aid reaches Gaza via the temporary Trident Pier, June 11, 2024.
Who built Gaza Pier? ›
WASHINGTON (AP) — The pier built by the U.S. military to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza will be reinstalled Wednesday to be used for several days, but then the plan is to pull it out permanently, several U.S. officials said.
What were the injuries at the Gaza Pier? ›
“Three injuries, two were very minor injuries and those individuals returned to duty. One individual is undergoing care at a local Israeli hospital,” Cooper said during a Thursday press call, adding that the two with minor injuries suffered a sprained ankle and a back injury and both had returned to duty.
Does Gaza have access to the sea? ›
The Gaza Strip has been put under a strict blockade, by land, air, and sea. Having total surface area of 362 square kilometers, the transportation system in the strip is in poor condition with only 76 kilometres (47 mi) of main roads, 122 kilometres (76 mi) of regional roads, and 99 kilometres (62 mi) of local roads.
What is the Fact Finding Mission Gaza? ›
The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, also known as the Goldstone Report, was a United Nations fact-finding mission established in April 2009 pursuant to Resolution A/HRC/RES/S-9/1 of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) of 12 January 2009, following the Gaza War as an independent ...
Did the U.S. build the floating pier in Gaza? ›
The pier built by the U.S. military to get aid into Gaza cost $230 million. It broke apart early on, and critics say it did little to help people in Gaza. LEILA FADEL, HOST: The U.S. military's floating pier on the shore of Gaza cost some $230 million.
Why did Gaza Pier collapse? ›
Broken apart by strong winds and heavy seas just over a week after it became operational, the project faces criticism that it hasn't lived up to its initial billing or its $320 million price tag.
How much did the U.S. Gaza Pier cost? ›
WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. military's cost estimate to build a pier off Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid has risen to $320 million, a U.S. defense official and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Was the US Gaza pier knocked out of action by heavy seas? ›
US Gaza pier knocked out of action by heavy seas. Two US military vessels supporting the pier ran aground amid heavy seas last week. A temporary pier built by the US military to deliver aid to Gaza has been damaged by heavy seas and will take at least a week to be repaired, according to US officials.
A U.S. soldier injured during the Gaza pier mission was transported to an Army hospital in Texas, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday. Pentagon Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the soldier was transported on a military aircraft with his family to San Antonio, Texas.
What is the problem with the water in Gaza? ›
About 90 percent of Gaza's water supply comes from the Coastal Aquifer Basin, which runs along the eastern Mediterranean coast from Egypt through Gaza and into Israel. However, the water is brackish and contaminated due to seawater intrusion, overextraction, and sewage and chemical infiltration.
Why did Israel give up Gaza Strip? ›
The motivation behind the disengagement was described by Sharon's top aide as a means of isolating Gaza and avoiding international pressure on Israel to reach a political settlement with the Palestinians. The disengagement plan was implemented in August 2005 and completed in September 2005.
What is the purpose of the walls surrounding the West Bank and the Gaza Strip? ›
Israel describes the wall as a necessary security barrier against Palestinian political violence; whereas Palestinians describe it as an element of racial segregation and a representation of Israeli apartheid, who often call it "Wall of Apartheid".
Why is Israel building settlements in the West Bank? ›
The government abrogated the prohibition from purchasing occupied land by Israelis; the "Drobles Plan", a plan for large-scale settlement in the West Bank meant to prevent a Palestinian state under the pretext of security became the framework for its policy.
What is the Gaza Strip famous for? ›
The Gaza Strip, which some have called “the world's largest open-air prison,” is a narrow piece of land between Israel and Egypt. More than 2 million Palestinians live in the 140-square-mile enclave, making it one of the most densely populated places on earth. In 1947, the newly formed U.N.
