Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defence | Official website
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided an update on the U.S. Department of Defense's support for humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) personnel supporting the mission to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians attempted yesterday to re-anchor the temporary pier to the beach in Gaza to resume humanitarian operations," said Ryder. "However, due to technical and weather-related issues, CENTCOM personnel were unable to re-anchor the pier to the shore. At no time did U.S. personnel enter Gaza."
Ryder further stated that "the pier and support vessels and equipment are returning to Ashdod where they will remain until further notice." A new date for re-anchoring has not been set.
The temporary pier has played a significant role in facilitating the delivery of aid into Gaza. To date, more than 8,100 metric tons (nearly 20 million pounds) of humanitarian aid have been transported from the pier to a marshaling area for collection by humanitarian organizations for onward distribution. This marks the largest amount of aid transported by the U.S. military over a three-month period and represents one of the most extensive humanitarian responses in the Middle East region.
"As highlighted in the initial deployment announcement, the pier has always been intended as a temporary solution to enable additional flow of aid into Gaza during a period of dire humanitarian need, with limited access, supplementing land and air channels of delivery," Ryder noted. He added that "the pier will soon cease operations, with more details on that process and timing available in the coming days."
