Humanitarian aid reaches Gaza via the temporary floating pier on June 11, 2024. (Jordan KirkJohnson/U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Wednesday reattached a floating pier off the coast of Gaza for the second time, once again attempting to open a temporary sea route to move humanitarian aid into the enclave, the Pentagon said.
“Overnight, the transfer of humanitarian assistance from Cyprus to Gaza resumed with more than 656 metric tons, or 1.4 million pounds, being delivered to the marshaling yard,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Thursday.
The Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, pier is meant to provide another way to deliver needed aid into Gaza. Health officials have warned that millions of Gazans face extreme hunger as Israel continues its war against Hamas militants who launched a surprise assault in October from the enclave.
The pier became operational May 17, but the Pentagon announced less than two weeks later it would be removed for repairs after suffering damage from rough seas and bad weather.
The pier became operational again June 7. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, told reporters at the time that the issue with the pier was “solely from unanticipated weather.”
A week later, CENTCOM announced the pier was being temporarily removed due to high seas.
Ryder also said, despite news reports of the pier operation ending early, an end date has not been established.
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 had 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.
Roughly 1,000 American forces are involved in the operation of the pier.
