US military announces end of Gaza pier mission

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US military announced the end of a floating pier Wednesday that delivered aid to the Gaza Strip.

"The maritime surge mission involving the pier is complete. So, there's no more need to use the pier," said Deputy Commander of Central Command Navy Vice Admr. Brad Cooper in an online briefing.

He said the maritime mission will transition from a temporary pier in Gaza to a port in Ashdod, Israel and "in the past few weeks, we've begun utilizing this new hybrid pathway from the sea and land to deliver aid from Cyprus to the port of Ashdod, Israel, then into North Gaza via the UN and WFP (World Food Program)," he added.

Cooper said in the coming weeks, it is expected that millions of pounds of aid will enter Gaza through the pathway.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, that the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) temporary pier will soon cease operations.

"The Secretary stressed the importance of increasing the flow of humanitarian assistance through all land crossings and supporting aid deliveries to Ashdod Port in Israel for onward distribution in Gaza," it said in a statement.

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.

Biden said two weeks during a NATO summit that he was "disappointed" by the failure but "hopeful that would be more successful."

The pier is currently at the Ashdod port. It has been in operation for about 20 days since it was installed in May due to bad weather and mechanical malfunctions