The Pentagon said Tuesday the U.S. has finished building a temporary pier for delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The pier, when fully operational, will be able to deliver up to 150 truckloads of aid a day.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said during Tuesday's briefing the Trident section of the pier, an 1,800-foot causeway of modular sections linked together, was completed as part of the U.S. military Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) mission. Last week, the floating pier section was completed.
Singh said the Trident pier "is the component that eventually will be anchored to the Gaza shore."
Construction of the pier began late last month as pressure mounted for more humanitarian aid to be delivered to Palestinian civilians caught up in Israel's war against Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Soldiers from the Army's 7th Transportation Brigade at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, and sailors from Naval Beach Group 1 at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in California have been involved in construction and deployment of the pier, the Pentagon said in a news release. About 1,000 soldiers and sailors are involved in the operation.
Singh said sea conditions, which prompted a pause in construction Friday by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), are not conducive yet to connect the pier to the mainland.
"Today, there are forecasted high winds and high sea swells, which are causing unsafe conditions for the JLOTS components to be moved," Singh said. "So, the pier sections and military vessels involved in its construction are still positioned at the Port of Ashdod" in northern Gaza.
Singh said as CENTCOM stands by to move the pier in position, humanitarian aid will be loaded onto the MV Sagamore cargo ship, which is anchored in Cyprus.
"The Sagamore will use the JLOTS system and will make trips between Cyprus and the offshore floating pier as USAID and other partners collect aid from around the world," Singh said. "Aid delivered to the floating pier will then be transloaded onto U.S. military logistic support vessels and subsequently transported to the Trident pier, or the causeway, where it will be loaded onto trucks for onward delivery and distribution by humanitarian assistance NGOs."
Until the pier is in place, the Pentagon said it will continue humanitarian assistance via airdrops into Gaza. On Sunday, two U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft dropped more than 25,000 ready-to-eat meals into northern Gaza.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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