MAY 4, 2024 – Construction of a temporary humanitarian aid pier for Gaza will continue after the Army had to relocate the construction site due to forecasted high seas, U.S. Central Command announced yesterday.
Construction of the temporary pier — which is part of the U.S. military’s Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability — has moved to the Israeli Port of Ashdod, just over 18 miles northeast of the Gazan border.
Soldiers had to temporarily pause assembly of the floating pier in the vicinity of Gaza Thursday due to high sea swells and elevated wind conditions, according to a press release from Centcom.
While in the Port of Ashdod, pier “assembly will continue and will be completed prior to the emplacement of the pier in its intended location” when conditions improve, according to the release.
The JLOTS construction project includes a floating pier, an approximately 1,800-foot-long causeway that will be attached to the shore, and a group of logistic support vessels and barges that will transport the aid from the pier to the causeway.
Construction of the JLOTS was over 50% complete as of Wednesday, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a briefing. “The floating pier has been completely constructed and set up; the causeway is in progress,” she said.
The Pentagon originally announced its mission to construct the pier on March 8, one day after President Joe Biden called on the military to carry out the operation during his State of the Union address.
Within days, several vessels carrying the JLOTS equipment — manned by service members from the Army’s 7th Transportation Brigade — got underway from Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia en route to Centcom’s area of responsibility.
Initially, officials anticipate the pier will facilitate the delivery of about 90 daily truckloads of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Once fully operational, that number should increase to roughly 150 truckloads, or close to 2 million meals per day.
By Matthew Olay, DOD News