WASHINGTON: The US military has finished the construction of its Gaza aid pier, however, according to weather conditions it is currently unsafe to move the two-part facility into the right place, said the Pentagon on Tuesday.
The US military started building the pier last month at $320 million. The project is aimed at enhancing deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been destroyed by seven months of Israeli operations against Hamas.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told the media that the construction of the two portions of the JLOTS — the floating pier and the Trident pier — is complete.
She said high winds are forecasted which are causing unsafe conditions for the JLOTS components to be moved.
Singh added the sections of the pier and military ships involved in its construction are still positioned at the Israeli port of Ashdod.
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The Pentagon official said the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stands by to move the pier into its position very soon.
The ships and the under-construction pier were moved to the port due to harsh weather last week. Once the weather clears, the pier will be brought to the shore of Gaza by Israeli soldiers.
The humanitarian assistance will then be transported via commercial ships to a floating platform off the Gaza coast, where it will be transferred to smaller boats to the pier for land distribution.
Biden announced constriction of pier in March
US President Joe Biden announced the plans for the pier construction in early March as Israel held up deliveries of aid by ground, and US Army troops and ships set out on a lengthy trip to the Mediterranean to construct the pier.
Meanwhile, the White House has said the closing of Rafah and the other main crossing, Karem Shalom, by Israel, is unacceptable.
CENTCOM in a statement said the US to date has dropped 1,200 tons of humanitarian aid.
According to the Gaza health ministry, Israel’s relentless bombardment has killed at least 34,789 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.
