View of the Gaza floating pier on the Mediterranean Sea offshore installed by the U.S. military to deliver aid to Gaza on May 17, 2024.
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon dismantled a temporary pier that brought aid to the Gaza Strip and has no immediate plans to return it, dealing another blow to a program that’s become a symbol of the U.S. struggle to ease the enclave’s dire humanitarian crisis.
U.S. Central Command removed the floating pier, which was built at a cost of about $230 million because of high seas in the Mediterranean, deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told a briefing. “I don’t have a date of when the pier will be re-installed,” she said. “There is still aid sitting in that marshaling area.”
Singh said Central Command had delivered more than 4,500 metric tons of aid in the last seven days and nearly 9,000 metric tons since mid-May when it was first set up. The yard just off the pier where aid is stored is nearly full and would need to be emptied before the pier is restored, she said.
President Joe Biden ordered the construction of the pier as land crossings into Gaza remained constrained by fighting between Israel and Hamas, and pressure grew on his administration to do something about the deteriorating humanitarian situation there. The pier was always meant to be temporary and not replace overland routes that have been frequently blocked.
But the pier had to be removed several times because of rough seas and at underwent repairs for damage suffered in a storm. At one point, crowds of desperate people intercepted most of the aid sent over the pier, forcing a temporary halt in deliveries.
Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble since Israel began a campaign against Hamas militants over the Oct. 7 assault that killed 1,200 Israelis and led to around 250 being taken hostage.
