The U.S. military is said to be considering dismantling the humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza for the second time in weeks due to rough sea conditions in the eastern Mediterranean.
Just days after aid delivery operations resumed, concerns about heavy seas potentially damaging the rebuilt $230 million pier have led military officials to consider its temporary dismantling, CBS News reported Thursday.
Multiple Pentagon officials have reportedly indicated that the pier, known as Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS), will be relocated back to Israel's Ashdod port sometime on Friday to wait out the weather. This would mark the second time in weeks that the fragile pier and causeway has been dismantled.
The JLOTS system, designed to facilitate the rapid movement of humanitarian aid, was initially damaged by rough seas earlier this month and required repairs in Ashdod. One U.S. servicemember was seriously injured when the pier broke apart.
After resuming operations briefly last week, the pier faced another suspension due to adverse weather conditions on Monday and Tuesday.
Humanitarian operations at the pier have faced additional challenges. The World Food Programme (WFP) suspended its aid distribution through the JLOTS due to safety concerns following an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operation near the staging area, which resulted in the rescue of four hostages and many Palestinian casualties.
After the raid, Israeli rescuers rushed the hostages to the beach and the U.S. aid hub on Gaza's coast. An Israeli helicopter landed near the U.S.-built pier to evacuate hostages and commandos, according to videos showing the evacuation.
The Pentagon has denied claims that the IDF used the pier to stage the risky rescue mission.
But the Associated Press reported that the military operation raised concerns among the UN and independent humanitarian groups about the sea route. They questioned whether aid workers could cooperate with the U.S. military-backed, Israeli-secured project without violating core humanitarian principles of neutrality.
"The WFP, of course, is taking the security measures that they need to do, and the reviews that they need to do, in order to feel safe and secure and to operate within Gaza," Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said this week.
The pier has delivered more than 2,500 metric tons (about 5.6 million pounds) of aid to Gaza, Singh said. About 1,000 metric tons of that aid, brought by ship on Tuesday and Wednesday after the WFP pause, has been piling up on the beach since.
The pier's dependency on sea conditions has raised questions about its long-term sustainability. Humanitarian officials have expressed concerns about the pier's real value, given the logistical challenges posed by the Israeli government's reluctance to open additional land crossings for aid into Gaza.
Late last month, the floating pier broke apart after just 10 days of operation, which defense officials privately described as inevitable, according to reports. There have been concerns about its capacity to handle the rough waters of the Mediterranean Sea, which are expected to worsen over the summer.
In March, President Biden announced the pier at his State of the Union as as a way to avoid famine in northern Gaza by providing seaborne access for assistance, even though the land crossings controlled by Israel are considered far more effective means of aid distribution.
Newsweek has contacted WFP and the Pentagon for comment.
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