Adverse weather conditions have caused two interruptions in the delivery of aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. The U.S. military announced plans to reopen a pier in Gaza later this week.
Pentagon spokesperson, Air Force Major General Pat Ryder, stated in a press conference on Tuesday, June 18th, that the specific date for resuming operations of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) capability in Gaza has not been determined yet, but it is planned to resume operations within this week.
Earlier reports suggested that the “temporary pier could be dismantled as early as July”, however, Ryder clarified, “The pier is a temporary measure, I do not have any specific date for when operations will cease.”
Ryder expressed, “We look forward to JLOTS coming back online as soon as possible and delivering aid supplies. We will leverage weather conditions to transport aid supplies through the pier as much as possible.”
Since its first operation at the end of May, the pier has only operated for about a week before the connection to the Gaza coastline was disrupted by rough seas.
The temporary pier underwent repairs in the Israeli port city of Ashdod and was put back into operation in early June, but just days later, inclement weather forced the U.S. military to remove it from the coast. Ryder mentioned that the temporary pier has now been sent back to Ashdod for further repairs.
President Biden announced the construction of the pier in March to facilitate the delivery of more humanitarian aid to Gaza.
JLOTS consists of a floating pier, a roughly 1800-foot-long causeway connecting to the coast, and a set of logistics support ships and barges to transport relief supplies from the pier to the causeway.
The pier is just one of the humanitarian aid distribution corridors, with overland transport still being the preferred method to deliver food, water, and medicine to the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, the Pentagon stated that the pier has helped deliver over 1,000 tons of aid supplies to Gaza.
Ryder also mentioned, “Transporting aid supplies to Gaza is a multifaceted effort. Whether by land, air, or sea transport, we will continue to do our best to achieve this goal.”