A driver transports humanitarian aid from a U.S. Army vessel across the floating pier and onto the beach in Gaza on June 8, 2024. (Kelby Sanders/U.S. Navy)

WASHINGTON — The inspector generals of the Defense Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development announced Thursday that the agencies would open reviews into the U.S. military’s floating pier used to transport humanitarian assistance to Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

Each review will focus on a different aspect of the mission to move needed aid from the sea into the embattled enclave. The Pentagon review will assess how effectively the military has facilitated the delivery of food aid. USAID’s review will focus on the distribution side and evaluate how food aid has reached the agency’s key partner in the region, the U.N.’s World Food Program.

“The agreements between the DOD and USAID establish roles and responsibilities that help enable U.S. humanitarian assistance to reach Gaza through the maritime corridor,” Robert Storch, the Pentagon’s inspector general, said in a statement. “Through our collaboration, we will leverage the unique expertise, resources and capabilities of our teams to optimize our oversight in this important area.”

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.

But the pier has been plagued with problems since May 17 when it became operational. The Pentagon announced less than two weeks later it would be removed for repairs after suffering damage from rough seas and bad weather.

A driver transports pallets of humanitarian aid on June 14, 2024, from the USNS GySgt Fred W. Stockham across a floating platform and onto an Army vessel off the coast of Gaza. (Isaak Martinez/U.S. Navy)

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, said 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.

The pier was again reattached June 19, though Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman, told reporters earlier in the week it only became fully operational Tuesday after scheduled maintenance Monday.

Ryder said more than 6,800 metric tons, or 15 million pounds, of humanitarian aid had been delivered for aid groups to distribute.

News reporters were invited onto the pier this week for the first time since it has been used off the coast of Gaza. From the pier, they could see aid piling up against a backdrop of near-total destruction, The Associated Press reported.

While aid from the pier is reaching the beach, it’s still difficult to get supplies to Palestinians in Gaza. The World Food Program has suspended aid delivery from the pier due to security concerns after the Israeli military appeared to use the area in a June 8 hostage rescue. Lawlessness around the pier, with hungry Palestinians seizing aid off trucks headed to delivery zones, is also a major concern according to the AP.

U.N. officials told the AP on Tuesday that they are considering suspension of aid operations across Gaza unless steps are taken to better protect humanitarian workers.