US says beleaguered Gaza aid pier may not be reattached after series of mishaps

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A temporary pier that was intended to serve as a workaround for ongoing Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries in the besieged Gaza Strip may not be reattached, the Pentagon said Friday even as millions of pounds of aid remain in limbo at a nearby site.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced Thursday that all operations at the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) facility would cease "in relatively short order" and the pier would be dismantled after a series of mishaps, and an ongoing inability to get aid to the starving Palestinians in dire need. Efforts were supposed to be undertaken to retrieve millions of pounds of aid that had been transported to what the US calls a "marshalling area" near where the pier was anchored, but that may now not happen.

The US military attempted to re-anchor the pier on Wednesday, but was unable to do so "due to technical and weather related issues," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters. Ships and associated materials were returned to the Israeli port at Ashdod where they had been undergoing maintainance.

"At this time, I just don't have more information to provide on when and if a re-anchoring date will be possible," Singh added. "It really depends on the sea states and the environment."

The White House confirmed Thursday long-running speculation that the pier's days are numbered following a series of mishaps that led to the temporary facility being taken to Ashdod for repairs, and later for what the Biden administraiton called regular maintaiance.

The World Food Program, the principal US partner that worked to facilitate deliveries from the site, paused its operations following a deadly Israeli hostage rescue operation in June in which two of the organization’s warehouses were struck by rockets. The strikes, as well as Israel's use of a vehicle disguised as an aid truck during the operation, have prompted a security review that has yet to conclude.

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that he is "disappointed" by the pier's failure, saying he was "hopeful that would be more successful."

Since the pier became operational on May 17, more than 8,100 metric tons, or approximately 20 million pounds, of humanitarian aid has been delivered from the facility to a marshaling area where it was intended to be collected by humanitarian organizations for onward delivery and distribution, according to the Pentagon.