US military’s U$230 million Gaza aid pier effort hit by repeated setbacks
- US says Gaza pier re-anchored, working again with aid being transferred following recent operational challenges
The controversial US effort to boost Gaza aid deliveries by building a temporary pier has faced repeated problems, with bad weather damaging the structure and causing other interruptions to the arrival of desperately needed assistance.
More than 4,100 metric tons of aid has been delivered via the US$230 million pier project so far, but it has only been operational for limited periods, falling short of US President Joe Biden’s pledge that it would enable a “massive increase” in assistance reaching Gaza “every day”.
The coastal territory has been devastated by more than eight months of Israeli operations against Palestinian militant group Hamas, uprooting Gaza’s population and leaving them in dire need of aid.
Gaza itself has no harbour deep enough for larger cargo vessels. Cargo ships bring aid supplies from Cyprus to a floating platform a few kilometres off the coast of the Gaza Strip.
The goods are then loaded onto smaller ships that can dock at the temporary pier, where their cargoes are transferred to lorries to be distributed across the territory.
