Pentagon says Gaza pier complete but not fully operational due to bad weather

The U.S. Pentagon announced on Tuesday that its floating Gaza pier is complete but currently not operational due to bad weather conditions. The "Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS)" pier is officially designed to facilitate the inflow of humanitarian aid to Gaza's civilians amid the ongoing war between the terror organization Hamas and Israel.

Originally estimated to cost $180 million, the pier is now expected to cost nearly 80% more, at $320 million.

“As of today, the construction of the two portions of the JLOTS — the floating pier and the Trident pier — are complete and awaiting final movement offshore,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told media representatives.

“Today, there are still forecasted high winds and high sea swells, which are causing unsafe conditions for the JLOTS components to be moved. So the pier sections and military vessels involved in its construction are still positioned at the port of Ashdod,” the Pentagon official added, referring to Israel's Mediterranean port located north of the Gaza Strip.

Singh noted that Washington “stands by to move the pier into position in the near future.” Some 1,000 U.S. forces have been involved in the construction of the floating pier since the Biden administration greenlit the project in March.

Washington allegedly expedited the construction of the aid pier. Last week, Singh told media outlets that over 50% of the pier had already been completed.

“As of today, we are over 50% complete on setting up the pier,” Singh stated during a press conference. “The floating pier has been completely constructed and set up. The causeway is in progress.”

The Biden administration has increasingly expressed concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. While supporting Israel's right to defend itself, U.S. President Joe Biden has also criticized the Israeli government for not doing enough in terms of facilitating the inflow of humanitarian aid into the Strip. T

The aid port off the coast of Gaza was presented in March as an independent U.S. initiative to assist the civilian Gazan population amid the war.

“We’re not waiting on the Israelis. This is a moment for American leadership, and we are building a coalition of countries to address this urgent need,” an unnamed U.S. official stated in March.

However, in April, the Israeli government published statistics showing that Israel has facilitated the inflow of 252,000 tons of food and 3.3 million cubic meters (871.8 million gallons) of water into Gaza since the beginning of the war last October. Israeli authorities have argued that Hamas theft and UN incompetence have been the main factors limiting the inflow of aid to Gaza.

In early May, Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom Border Crossing for the first time since last year to increase the inflow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, Hamas deliberately sabotaged the humanitarian effort by attacking the crossing, resulting in the deaths of four Israeli soldiers and wounded an additional 10. Israel temporarily closed the border crossing after the Hamas attack.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller asserted that the border crossings need to be reopened as the aid pier does not have sufficient capacity.

“Getting that pier finished is not a sufficient means to close other gates. It’s not a sufficient reason to operate in the south and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian systems, because even when that pier is open, the amount of aid it can deliver a day – somewhere around 100 trucks – in no way can replace what needs to come into Gaza through these other gates,” Miller said.

Israel reopened the Keren Shalom crossing on Wednesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reassured Biden that humanitarian aid to Gaza would continue.