US to wind down Gaza pier operations after reinstallation fails

The temporary pier installed by the US to deliver aid to desperate Palestinians will soon cease operations after weeks of rough seas and a recent failed reinstallation, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Maj Gen Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that US military personnel “were unable to reanchor the pier to the shore” as planned this week and that a date to reattach it has not been set.

“The pier will soon cease operations,” he said.

President Joe Biden said he was disappointed that some of his plans to get aid into Gaza had not been more successful.

"I've been disappointed that some of the things that I've put forward have not succeeded as well, like the port we attached," he said at a news conference.

"I was hopeful that would be more successful."

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan earlier said on the sidelines of the Nato summit: “I do anticipate that in relatively short order we will wind down pier operations. The real issue right now is not about getting aid into Gaza. It’s about getting around Gaza effectively.”

The Associated Press cited other US officials who said the Pentagon and Central Command were actively discussing an early end to pier operations because weather and maintenance problems make it far less desirable to reconnect it for a short time.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said there was no final decision yet and if the weather calms there is a slim chance it could be reattached for a short time.

The initial plan this week had been to reinstall the pier for a few days to move the final pallets of aid on to the shore and then permanently remove it, but rough seas have prevented the reinstallation.

The pier was installed to deliver much-needed aid to Gaza amid the continuing war, with Israeli forces having intermittently shuttered land crossings.

It facilitated the delivery of about 8,800 tonnes of aid but distribution to those who needed it most was not assured after it reached the shore, with looting common.

Thousands of tonnes of aid built up in warehouses amid concerns for the safety of distributing organisations due to heavy fighting and Israeli bombardments.

Some aid still remains offshore and in Cyprus, but officials said they are looking at alternative plans to take the aid to the Israeli port at Ashdod, where the pier has been taken for repairs three times since it was first installed in May.

Maj Gen Ryder pointed out that the assistance delivered “represents the largest amount of aid transported by the US military over a three-month period and the largest humanitarian response in the Middle East region”.

Officials have stressed that the pier – known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, capability – was always meant to be temporary.

Mr Sullivan said the pier had made a difference in helping bring in urgently needed food and humanitarian aid to Gaza, but there were now additional flows of supply coming into the Palestinian enclave through land routes.