The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that the US military has completed the construction of a temporary pier near the coast of Gaza to transport humanitarian aid.
Deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh informed reporters that the US military has finished building the Trident pier section, also known as the causeway, off the coast. This section will eventually be connected to the Gaza shore.
The project, called the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) capability, is made up of two parts: a floating pier for unloading aid from ships, which was finished last week, and a causeway section intended to be attached to the Gaza coast for transporting aid from ships to the mainland.
According to Singh, both parts of JLOTS are finished but are waiting to be moved offshore due to bad weather conditions.
Singh mentioned that the U.S. military and the pier sections are currently stationed at the Port of Ashdod in Israel due to unsafe weather conditions, including high winds and sea swells.
The completion of the JLOTS in the Mediterranean Sea is happening as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens, with the United Nations and local organizations warning of famine due to severe lack of food and medical supplies.
The situation is expected to deteriorate further after Israel's military takeover of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, which is the only entry point for humanitarian aid between Gaza and Egypt.
Despite the pier not being in its final position, Singh mentioned that the US is loading aid onto the ship MV Sagamore in Cyprus. This ship is intended to be the first to transport the assistance from Cyprus to the pier.
Singh also stated that the MV Sagamore will utilize the JLOTS system and make trips between Cyprus and the offshore floating pier to collect aid from various partners worldwide.
She added that the defense officials hope to have the JLOTS in place by the end of the week.
