Biden Pentagon Declares Mission Accomplished As It Dismantles Failed Gaza Pier Weeks Early

The Pentagon claimed on Wednesday that its Gaza pier aid mission achieved its objective, even though it failed to meet expectations and will close earlier then expected.

The pier, designed as a causeway to deliver aid via a maritime route, will be permanently shuttered after being open for less than three months, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Despite being frequently hampered by logistical and operational problems and largely failing to get aid into Gaza, the Pentagon declared Wednesday that the pier was a successful operation and its mission is now “complete,” according to multiple outlets.

“Our assessment is that the temporary pier has achieved its intended effect: to surge a very high volume of aid into Gaza and ensure that aid reaches the civilians in Gaza in a quick manner,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, a top official in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, told reporters on Wednesday, according to USNI News and Reuters. “The maritime surge mission involving the pier is complete. So there’s no more need to use the pier.”

Cooper told reporters that the pier delivered “the largest volume of human assistance ever” to the Middle East region, at roughly 20 million pounds of aid, according to The Washington Post. But given that truck convoys through land border crossings are the most effective method to get aid into Gaza, assistance will now be delivered to the Israeli port of Ashdod and transported south into the region.