THE US MILITARY’S problem-plagued mission to deliver desperately needed aid to Gaza via a temporary pier has ended, a senior American officer said today.

The pier was installed in mid-May and cost around $230 million (€211m) but has been hit with problems since its installation.

The pier was damaged by bad weather in May and had to be removed for repairs. It was then reattached on 7 June but was moved to Ashdod on 14 June to protect it from anticipated high seas – a situation that was repeated later in the month.

Asked last week if the US viewed the operation as a success, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said: “I see any result that produces more food, more humanitarian goods getting to the people of Gaza as a success.

File image of the US-built floating pier being used to facilitate aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.

“It is additive. It is something additional that otherwise would not have gotten there when it got there. And that is a good thing.

“And if the pier hadn’t happened, if that food wouldn’t have gotten in, for me it’s hard to think about why one would object to that.”

Today, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told journalists: “The maritime surge mission involving the pier is complete, so there’s no more need to use the pier.”

Biden announced the pier project during his State of the Union address in March as Israel held up deliveries of assistance by land, and the Pentagon has said it helped push the Israeli government to open more aid routes.

-With additional reporting from © AFP 2024