Pentagon says US ‘on track’ to build Gaza aid pier in coming weeks, Israel to secure shore

US Army soldiers load an AC unit aboard the USAV Monterey at the pier of the Joint Base Langley-Eustis during a media preview of the 7th Transportation Brigade deployment in Hampton, Virginia, on March 12, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP)
US Army soldiers load an AC unit aboard the USAV Monterey at the pier of the Joint Base Langley-Eustis during a media preview of the 7th Transportation Brigade deployment in Hampton, Virginia, on March 12, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP)

WASHINGTON — The US military is on schedule to build a pier off the Gaza coast to expand humanitarian aid deliveries, the Defense Department says, even as other agencies have pulled back after Israel killed several aid workers.

The pier will be on line by the end of the month or early May, says Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary.

“Everything is on track, on schedule at this point,” Ryder says. He says Israel has agreed to provide security on the shore as aid is transferred and distributed, but details are still being worked out.

On Thursday, several of the Army boats carrying soldiers and equipment for the pier construction were docked in the Canary Islands for fuel and maintenance and are expected to continue on into the Mediterranean Sea. A ship operated by the Military Sealift Command, the USNS Benavidez is in the Mediterranean Sea, near Crete, carrying some of the larger equipment for the project.

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