The U.S. military had to temporarily stop building a pier near Gaza because of bad weather, in order to deliver humanitarian aid, stated the Pentagon on Friday.
The U.S. Central Command officials decided to temporarily halt the construction of the floating pier near Gaza due to unsafe conditions caused by high winds and sea swells, according to a statement from the command.
The partially constructed pier and military vessels involved in its construction have been relocated to the Port of Ashdod in Israel, where the assembly will continue.
Up to 1,000 American service members are working on setting up the floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea near Gaza, a project that was initially estimated to cost $320 million by the Pentagon.
The pier, announced during President Biden’s State of the Union address in March, will be an 1,800-foot-long causeway attached to the shore, aiming to help the U.S. government and its partners in delivering more humanitarian aid to civilians in the region.
Officials had expected to finish the pier by the end of this week, but the unsafe seas will likely cause a delay of several days.
Once operational, the pier is set to initially support 90 daily truckloads of humanitarian aid into Gaza, with intentions to increase to about 150 trucks daily.
