According to a recent report, a US military pier built two months ago to aid humanitarian efforts in Gaza is scheduled to be permanently dismantled in the coming days. The pier, which had been removed earlier to avoid bad weather, will be reconnected to the Gaza coastline on Wednesday (July 10). However, it will only be operational for the next few days before being dismantled by the US Army and Navy. This will mark the end of a project that has long been troubled by bad weather, security concerns, and challenges in delivering food to starving Palestinians.

According to The Associated Press (AP), which cited unnamed officials, the pier will be temporarily reinstalled to move humanitarian supplies that have accumulated in Cyprus and on a floating dock offshore since it was dismantled on June 28 due to bad weather conditions.

Notably the pier proposal was first introduced by US President Joe Biden in March. The pier was a temporary measure for allowing the aid across land crossings by Israel.

Since its installation on May 17, the pier has been operational for fewer than 20 days. For most of that time, aid deliveries were only unloaded on the beach and not distributed throughout Gaza due to security concerns.

It is worth noting that the World Food Programme (WFP) suspended distribution convoys on 9 June, following an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hostage rescue operation that saved four Israeli hostages but resulted in the deaths of 274 Palestinians.

During its two months of operation, approximately 8,800 metric tons of aid, around 500 truckloads, have been unloaded off the pier. This amount is equivalent to a single day's delivery before the war began.

Land deliveries have significantly declined since Israel launched an offensive on the southern border city of Rafah in May.

According to UN figures, the number of trucks entering Gaza decreased from 840 in May to 756 in June and has dropped to only 18 so far in July.

Image source: Reuters