(PatriotWise.com) — The temporary floating pier built by the US military to receive humanitarian aid in Gaza was temporarily removed on Tuesday after it sustained damage in rough seas less than two weeks after operations began.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday that it would take a couple of days to remove the pier from the beach before transporting it to Ashdod in southern Israel to undergo repairs.
Singh said the repairs are expected to take just over a week, at least, before it can be re-anchored along the Gaza beach.
The temporary pier, first announced by President Biden during his State of the Union address, is one of several ways the US has sought to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians as Israel’s war against Hamas continues.
The US also began conducting airdrops from US C-130 cargo planes in early March to deliver pallets of food and supplies.
The two main southern border crossings, the Egyptian border at Rafah and Karem Shalom in Israel, are either inaccessible or not in operation. Most of the humanitarian aid is delivered across land routes in northern Gaza.
The removal of the floating pier was a major setback for the temporary project, which has already cost US taxpayers $320 million.
Before construction was complete, Hamas fired mortars at the staging area close to where the pier was to be anchored.
Since operations began, three US service members were injured, including one who remains in critical condition, and four vessels ran aground due to rough seas, according to Singh.
Just four days after the pier went into operation, deliveries had to be halted for two days after a mob of civilians rushed the aid trucks loaded with supplies, resulting in one Palestinian getting shot dead.
Four days later, four of the Army vessels used to ferry the aid from larger ships to the pier became unmoored from the pier due to rough seas. Two got stranded on the beach, while the other two ran aground along the coast of Israel.
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