US-built Gaza aid pier to resume for several days, then be permanently removed

The pier built by the US military to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza will be reinstalled tomorrow to be used for several days, but then the plan is to pull it out permanently, several US officials say.

It would deal the final blow to a project long plagued by bad weather, security uncertainties and difficulties getting food into the hands of starving Palestinians.

The officials say the goal is to clear whatever aid has piled up in Cyprus and on the floating dock offshore and get it to the secure area on the beach in Gaza. Once that has been done, the Army will dismantle the pier and depart. The officials speak on condition of anonymity because final details are still being worked out.

US troops removed the pier on June 28 because of bad weather and moved it to the port of Ashdod in Israel. But distribution of the aid had already stopped due to security concerns. The UN suspended deliveries from the pier on June 9, a day after the IDF used the area around it for airlifts during a rescue of four hostages. US and Israeli officials said no part of the pier itself was used in the raid, but UN officials said any perception in Gaza that the project was used may endanger their aid work.

As a result, aid brought through the pier into the secure area on the beach piled up for days while talks continued between the UN and Israel. More recently, the World Food Program hired a contractor to move the aid from the beach to prevent the food and other supplies from spoiling.