The Pentagon said Tuesday that it has suspended the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza via its floating pier after separate mishaps in which four U.S. military vessels were beached, one U.S. service member was critically injured and sections of the structure were ripped free in bad weather.
The damage will require the U.S. military, with Israeli assistance, to disassemble pieces of the pier attached to the Gazan shore, rebuild them in the nearby Israeli port of Ashdod, then transport them back to the Gazan shore and reconnect them, said Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman. That process will take at least a week, temporarily eliminating the pier as an option to deliver humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza as Israel continues its months-long military campaign against the militant group Hamas.
