The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that construction of an operational humanitarian pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip has been completed, The Times of Israel reported.
But the Pentagon noted that bad weather made it difficult to relocate the facility, which would have cost at least $320 million. report.
US completes construction of Gaza aid pier, but weather makes installation difficult https://t.co/s40y3wDvFc
— Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) May 7, 2024
“As of today, construction of two parts of JLOTS has been completed. [Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore] “The floating pier and Trident pier have been completed and are awaiting their final move offshore,” Sabrina Singh, deputy spokeswoman for the Pentagon, said at a press conference, The Times of Israel reported. (Related: ‘Terrible idea’: Biden’s Gaza aid plan puts troops at risk to appease voters, experts say)
“High winds and sea swells are expected today as well, creating dangerous conditions for the movement of the JLOTS components. Therefore, the pier section and the warships involved in its construction are still located in the Port of Ashdod.” a spokesperson told reporters, Israeli news agencies noted. Singh said the pier would be deployed in the “near future,” The Times of Israel reported.
This is not the first time bad weather has affected the project. The U.S. military suspended construction on the pier on Thursday as it observed forecasts of “strong winds and high swells” that would create “dangerous conditions” for workers, according to a press release from U.S. Central Command. read. The pier construction site was hit by brief mortar fire on 25 April.[v]various terrorist organizations,” UN and Israeli officials said.
In his April 7 State of the Union address, President Joe Biden announced plans to build facilities to further increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the decision appears to be related to a United Nations warning that near-famine conditions exist, with some 576,000 Gazans potentially suffering. “We do not plan for this to be an operation that requires U.S. ground operations,” a U.S. official said, according to a report in Politico. Instead, the Israeli military will be responsible for guarding the pier, according to WSJ.
