The US military has completed construction of its Gaza aid pier, but weather conditions mean it iscurrently unsafe to move the two-part facility into place, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The pier which the US military started building last month and which will cost at least $320 million is aimed at boosting deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which has been ravaged by seven months of Israeli operations against Hamas.
“As of today, the construction of the two portions of the JLOTS the floating pier and the Trident pier — are complete and awaiting final movement offshore,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists, using an acronym for Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, the official name for the pier capability.
“Today there are still forecasted high winds and high sea swells, which are causing unsafe conditions for the JLOTS components to be moved. So the pier sections and military vessels involved in its construction are still positioned at the port of Ashdod,” in Israel, Singh said.
“In the near future, US Central Command (CENTCOM) “stands by to deploy the pier into position,” she continued.
Last week’s inclement weather forced the ships and the newly built pier to the port. Israeli soldiers will anchor the pier to the Gaza beach once the weather clears, preventing US troops from landing.
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