US set to remove $320m Gaza humanitarian pier - and it may never come back
US officials say it may not be put back in place unless aid begins flowing out into the population again
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The pier built by the US military to bring aid to Gaza is being removed to protect it from the weather, and officials say they are considering not reinstalling it unless aid begins flowing out into the population again.
While the military has helped deliver desperately needed food via the pier, the vast majority of the food is still sitting in the adjacent storage yard because of the difficulty that agencies have had moving it to areas in Gaza where it is most needed. That storage area is almost full.
The pier has been instrumental in getting more than 6.8 million kilograms of food into Gaza but has faced multiple setbacks.
Rough seas damaged the pier just days into its initial operations, but the bigger challenge has been that humanitarian convoys have stopped carrying the aid from the pier’s storage area further into Gaza, to get it into civilians' hands, because they have come under attack.
The US officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements.
Humanitarian aid groups stopped distributing supplies that arrived by sea on 9 June due to security concerns and have not started again.
US officials say the pier may not be reinstalled unless aid agencies reach an agreement to begin distributing the aid again.
Meanwhile, food and other provisions shipped from Cyprus are piling up on shore, and soon the secure area on the beach in Gaza will reach capacity.
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