The temporary US military dock built to facilitate more aid to the Gaza Strip has been hit with one bad headline after another.
Rescue efforts from the pier have reportedly been halted due to damage caused by rough seas. report Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday the pier would be removed and sent to the southern Israeli city of Ashdod for repairs by U.S. Central Command. Singh said the repairs would take “at least a week or more,” after which the pier would need to be re-anchored to the Gaza Strip beaches.
Rough seas also caused one of the boats used to transport relief supplies between the ship and the pier to run aground.
CNN report That section of the pier was disconnected on Sunday, and the parking lot needs to be reconnected to the causeway before the pier can be used again.
The pier was operational for just two weeks before it needed repairs, during which the Pentagon admitted that not a single ton of the 500 tons of aid it was carrying had reached its intended population in the Gaza Strip, with trucks carrying the aid having been looted before they could reach their final destination.
Prior to this, the pier, built by the US at a cost of over $320 million, had faced other serious problems before it was even operational. During construction in April, the pier was hit by mortar fire, forcing workers to take cover but no one was injured. No Gaza terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Rough seas left one of the boats being used to ferry relief supplies between ships and piers stranded on the Israeli coast for several days, and when another vessel was sent to free the first, it also ran aground, officials said. The Israel TimesTwo other ships had to steer clear of their moorings and anchor near the pier.
Five days ago, U.S. Central Command announced that a U.S. service member suffered a non-combat-related injury aboard the MV Benavides (T-AKR 306), which was on-board to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza. The service member was transported to a medical facility and was diagnosed in critical condition.
