US expected to soon resume delivery of aid through Gaza pier

The U.S. will resume the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Gaza pier in the coming days after bad weather damaged the causeway and halted operations.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, said the causeway, the section that connects to the beach in Gaza, has been rebuilt and reconnected, allowing aid deliveries to resume.

Cooper told reporters they were “moving with a sense of urgency” to reopen the port.

“In the last week, there generally have only been two crossings that are opening, so now we are enabling a third crossing, or a third entry point into Gaza,” he said. “So we want to seize this opportunity and get the aid to the people as quickly as possible.”

The causeway broke apart late last month as a result of high winds and heavy seas. Four Army vessels were run aground, injuring three service members, including one still in critical condition.

The damaged section of the pier was repaired in the Israeli city of Ashdod by American service members and with the help of a private company. The ships that ran aground are also being repaired.

The pier is just one corridor to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, where Palestinians are struggling to access necessities like food and water as Israel carries out a major war against militant group Hamas. But Israel controls all major land crossings into Gaza after taking control of the southern part of the territory last month.

In the first week of operations in May, the pier delivered more than 2 million pounds of aid into Gaza, according to Cooper, who added he expects an increase in the amount of aid when operations resume, with 1 million pounds to be delivered over every two-day period.

The pier works with aid coming from the island nation of Cyprus and flowing to a floating dock miles off the shores of Gaza. Smaller ships then ferry the aid to the pier connected to the beach, where it’s driven to distribution centers in Gaza.

No U.S. boots are on the ground in Gaza; rather, they are working with Israeli troops and humanitarian aid groups, along with the United Nations, to distribute the aid.

The damage to the pier was a major setback for the U.S. military and President Biden, who first announced the maritime route in March, and it calls into question how effective it will be going forward.

Cooper said the U.S. military has a “series of plans” to implement in case of another emergency.

“We do have a series of contingency plans to adjust and adapt to the weather,” he said. “Until then, our goal is to keep the main thing the main thing, which is to maximize the amount of humanitarian assistance.”