US Soldier Injured During Gaza Pier Operation Has Died
A US soldier leaves a cordoned-off area as other troops work on a beached vessel, used for delivering aid to Palestinians via a new US-built pier in Gaza, after it got stuck trying to help another vessel behind it, on the Mediterranean coast in Ashdod, Israel, May 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
A US Army soldier who was in critical condition after suffering non-combat injuries while supporting the military’s pier off the coast of Gaza has died, the US military said on Monday.
Sergeant Quandarius Davon Stanley, who recently retired from the military, suffered critical injuries in May while supporting operations at sea of the US-built pier designed to increase flows of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the US Army confirmed that Stanley had died, though it did not specify when. He was receiving treatment in a long-term care medical center.
“Stanley was an instrumental and well respected first line leader in the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary (TBX), especially during the mission to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza,” Colonel John “Eddie” Gray, commander of the unit, said.
Three US troops were injured during the pier operation, but the other two were minor injuries and have returned to duty.
The US military ended its pier operation in July, months after President Joe Biden announced plans to put the pier in place for aid deliveries to alleviate the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
It involved 1,000 US troops, delivered only a fraction of the promised aid at a cost of nearly $230 million, and was from the start beset by bad luck and miscalculations, including fire, bad weather, and dangers on shore from the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
The US military has said the mission was a success, delivering the largest amount of aid ever into the Middle East.
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