“The pier is expected to close soon and further details regarding the process and timing will be announced shortly,” he said.
Ryder’s statement did not say whether U.S. forces would try to reconnect the pier to Gaza’s coast. A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said commanders considered trying the operation again on Thursday but called it off due to concerns about sea conditions.
Late last month, U.S. forces relocated structures damaged by rough seas to Ashdod. Severe damage This could again pose a risk to the structure.
Defense officials have repeatedly said the pier is temporary and that calm seas are necessary to deliver aid, but they note that optimal seasonal conditions could soon be over. The floating structure, which is connected to land by a steel causeway, can only be activated in waves no higher than 3 feet, according to a previous assessment by a U.S. military journal.
The operation has brought nearly 20 million pounds of food ashore since it began May 17, just a fraction of the amount humanitarian groups say is needed for Palestinians trapped by Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Hamas Facing starvation, Israeli authorities are resisting U.S. and international demands to allow more aid into Gaza by land.
And as the war’s civilian death toll continues to rise alarmingly, aid groups are concerned about the safety of their staff, hindering the distribution of supplies from the pier. Until recently, supplies that arrived were piled up in a dump site along the shore. A U.S. defense official familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss recent developments, said a significant amount of the supplies have been moved elsewhere, leaving room for new deliveries once the pier is up and running again.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, which works with humanitarian groups in the Gaza Strip, will continue to use all available routes into the Gaza Strip to deliver food and medicine to Palestinian civilians, an agency official said. Those groups have also begun using the port of Ashdod in the northern Gaza Strip to deliver additional aid, the official said.
The repeatedly stopped and restarted maritime mission has become a bone of contention in polarized Washington. Administration officials have defended the effort despite numerous setbacks, but other Democrats say the mission highlights Biden’s failure to force Israeli leaders to prioritize the safety and welfare of civilians.
Several Republican lawmakers have repeatedly called for the pier to be permanently removed, citing safety concerns for the roughly 1,000 U.S. troops on the mission.
The project was announced by President Biden in March, and administration officials said the pier would Up to 2 million meals per day Aid for starving Palestinians. Officials had expected supplies to begin arriving in early May, but strong waves have repeatedly arrived. Changed plans, Push back the pier’s original anchor position Until the middle of this month.
On May 25, just days after the first shipment began, rough seas and strong winds washed four Army ships onto Gaza’s shores, smashing the jetty to pieces and Abortion of missionPentagon officials said damage to the pier was estimated at At least $22 million in damages.
U.S. forces reassembled it in Ashdod and returned it to its original location on June 8. It was deleted after 6 days — It was closed again due to weather concerns, but the Ministry of Defence said the pier was used for a steady flow of supplies for about a week before being removed at the end of June, landing £10 million in relief supplies.
