4th time's the charm? U.S. drags away Biden's Gaza pier for 3rd time amid weather concerns
By Will Kessler
Daily Caller News Foundation
U.S. forces have removed the Biden administration’s pier it built in Gaza for the third time due to possible damage from incoming weather.
The pier, which was designed to deliver humanitarian aid, needed to be temporarily removed to Ashdod, Israel, due to high seas that could further damage the project, according to a post on X from U.S. Central Command. The $230 million pier has been marred with issues and controversy since being built in mid-May to help struggling Palestinians affected by the war between Israel and Hamas, having already been removed two other times.
“In the last week alone, more than 10 million pounds of aid was delivered to Gaza via the temporary pier, providing the second-highest volume of aid in all crossings,” the X post reads. “Today, due to anticipated adverse weather and heightened sea state, the temporary pier was moved from the coast of Gaza back to Ashdod, Israel.”
Since May 17, more than 8,831 metric tons (over 19.4 million pounds) have been delivered through the maritime corridor for distribution to the people of Gaza by humanitarian organizations. In the last week alone, more than 10 million pounds of aid was delivered to Gaza via the… pic.twitter.com/VPjaO5ecVd
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 29, 2024
Just two weeks after the pier became operational in May, it was broken apart by rough waters, costing tens of millions of dollars to repair. Two days after it had been made operational again, the United Nations paused its deliveries due to safety concerns.
The Department of Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Offices of Inspector General announced on Thursday that they would be investigating the pier to assess the effectiveness of the project to deliver aid due to the high volume of issues. The pier was built quickly and is not able to operate in the occasionally harsh conditions of the Mediterranean Sea, leading to frequent issues.
President Joe Biden only informed the Pentagon of his plans to build the pier days before it was announced in March. The pier is only able to routinely endure a “sea state three” level while the Mediterranean is often at a “sea state level four.”
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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