The U.S. military has halted aid shipments into Gaza after the Biden administration’s floating pier was damaged by bad weather, according to multiple reports.
The $320 million pier, formally labeled the Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore (JLOTS) pier, aimed to serve as a vessel to deliver aid to Gaza via a maritime corridor in the Mediterranean Sea. Less than two weeks after becoming operational, U.S. aid shipments have been halted fully after bad weather damaged and compromised the JLOTS pier, U.S. officials told multiple outlets on Tuesday.
The bad weather damage is the latest in a slew of issues the pier has faced since it became operational less than two weeks ago. Initial aid shipments through the pier last week were stolen almost immediately onshore by crowds of hungry civilians, raising concerns with aid distribution groups responsible for dolling out the aid properly.
Three U.S. troops were injured in a non-combat incident on the floating pier last week during aid transfer operations, though the exact cause of the injuries has not been disclosed. One of the three troops suffered critical injuries and was evacuated to an Israeli hospital, where he is currently receiving emergency care.
Four U.S. army vessels helping stabilize the pier became unmoored in choppy waters and bad weather over the weekend, which broke off part of the pier’s support system. Two of the vessels floated north and landed on a beach in Ashdod, Israel. The two other vessels were anchored to the beach near the pier.
President Joe Biden announced the pier as a signature project of his administration during the 2024 State of the Union (SOTU) in March.
“A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day,” Biden said during his remarks at the SOTU.
More broadly, the pier itself can only play a small role in delivering the aid needed in Gaza, even when fully operational. The Biden administration hopes to deliver 90 trucks worth of aid to Gaza per day via the JLOTS pier in the interim, eventually up to 150 trucks once initial problems are smoothed over. But 300 to 500 trucks of aid per day is required to satisfy the humanitarian needs of the millions of Palestinians who have been displaced by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war; the majority of the aid is being delivered by truck convoys through border crossings in Israel and Egypt.
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