Truck transports humanitarian aid onto U.S. Army vessel on May 20, 2024. (Riley Anfinson/Army)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. military has reattached the temporary pier off the coast of Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid will begin in the coming days, U.S. Central Command said Friday.

The Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, pier is meant to provide another way to deliver aid into Gaza. Health officials have warned millions of Gazans face hunger as Israel wages its war against Hamas militants who launched a surprise assault from the enclave.

The pier became operational May 17, but the Pentagon announced less than two weeks later it would be removed to undergo repairs after suffering damage from rough seas and bad weather.

More than 1,000 metric tons of aid was delivered before the pier operations were suspended.

Pentagon officials assessed the temporary pier suffered at least $22 million in damages, The Washington Post reported.

The Pentagon originally determined the pier would cost $320 million but defense officials have dropped the estimate to about $230 million. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said lower-than-expected costs for contracted trucks, drivers and commercial vessels, and the United Kingdom’s contribution of a vessel have lowered the U.S. price tag by about $90 million.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of CENTCOM, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, told reporters Friday that the issue with the pier was “solely from unanticipated weather.”