US working to rebuild, repair Gaza aid pier: Pentagon

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US is working to rebuild and repair a temporary humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza after rough seas caused motorized sections to run aground last weekend, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Thursday.

"Earlier today, IDF engineers removed the anchored portion of the Trident pier from the beach. So, as of this afternoon, all sections of the Trident pier have been relocated to the port of Ashdod for rebuilding and repairing," Sabrina Singh told the reporters.

The two army vessels that were beached on the coast of Israel near Ashkelon have been recovered, said Singh.

"The recovery of the remaining two army vessels that were beached near the Trident pier is ongoing with assistance from the Israeli navy. As a reminder, the rebuilding and repairing of the pier will take over a week, and following completion, the Trident pier will be reanchored to the coast of Gaza," she added.

High sea states and a North African weather system caused a portion of the pier to detach, Singh reiterated.

Since the pier has not been operable since last weekend, she said there has not been aid flowing in from the marshalling area further into Gaza.

"There's been over 1000 metric tons that have flowed into Gaza. So, we're making progress. We expect to be able to pick that progress back up as soon as we are able to reanchor the Trident pier into Gaza," she added.

US President Joe Biden ordered the establishment of a sea route to deliver food and other aid to Palestinians on March 8 amid Israeli restrictions and months of conflict in the enclave.​​​​​​​

The JLOTS (Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore) -- the floating pier and the Trident pier -- became operational May 17 when trucks carrying humanitarian assistance began moving ashore via the pier.