A temporary pier built by the US military to deliver aid to Gaza has been damaged by heavy seas and will take at least a week to be repaired, according to US officials.
US forces began building the floating pier – which is attached to Gaza’s shoreline by a temporary causeway – several weeks ago. The causeway portion of the project has now reportedly broken off and will have to be repaired before being returned to its position.
Humanitarian organisations have warned that the amount of aid reaching Palestinians in Gaza is only a fraction of what is required to meet the needs of its population.
The pier, which was first announced by US officials in March, is comprised of two main components: a large floating dock made up of steel segments and a two-lane, 1,800ft (548m) causeway and pier.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed that a portion of the causeway broke away in heavy seas. While it is tethered to Gaza’s shoreline, the piece will need to be removed and taken to the Israeli port of Ashod to be repaired before it can be re-attached to the causeway and back in action.
According to Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, the pier will be removed over the next two days with the help of the Israeli navy. The repairs will take more than a week, she added.
Ms Singh said weather conditions in the area had not created an “optimal environment” for the pier’s deployment, but that defence officials remain confident it would be operational again soon.
Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East and one of the founders of Fogbow, a private firm involved in the Gaza pier plan, told the BBC that weather-related delays were “expected” to “pose challenges”.
“But those challenges can be overcome, and the mission itself is worth the effort,” he said. “People are in desperate need of aid and this is one means to deliver it.”
Despite the setback, US officials are determined to get the pier back up and running to continue delivering much-needed aid to the people of Gaza.