By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - The temporary pier built by the US military to bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip has not been re-anchored, the Pentagon said Monday.
"The temporary pier still remains at (Israel's Port of) Ashdod. There were not conditions that allowed the pier to be re-anchored over the weekend, so the pier remains there," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters.
“The commander is still assessing when and if it can be re-anchored,” she added.
"And while we didn't set a timeline or a date on when operations would end, we know that, going into later summer, the weather conditions, the sea states were just not going to allow for the pier to continue to remain operable," Singh said.
Asked whether there is any "political issue" preventing the pier from being re-anchored, she said: "We're working on seeing whether we can re-anchor the pier...But this is not a political decision so much as it has to do with the environmental factors that impact the pier and operability."
No matter what, she said the aid that is in Cyprus or on US ships right now will get to the people of Gaza "in some way, via either the temporary pier and that being re-anchored or through Ashdod in some way."
Since the pier became operational May 17, more than 8,100 metric tons, or approximately 20 million pounds, of humanitarian aid has been delivered from the pier to the marshaling area where it can be collected by humanitarian organizations for onward delivery and distribution.
The $230 million pier, meant to boost deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, has paused operations several times.
US President Joe Biden ordered the establishment of the sea route to deliver food and aid to Palestinians on March 8 amid Israeli restrictions and months of conflict in the enclave.