US planning to temporarily dismantle Gaza humanitarian pier again as heavy seas are expected, sources say

CNN —

The US military is expected to temporarily dismantle the humanitarian pier it constructed off the coast of Gaza and move it back to Israel on Friday night, amid concerns that heavy seas could once again break it just days after it resumed aid delivery operations, multiple US officials said.

It will be the second time in a matter of weeks that the fragile pier and causeway system, known as Joint Logistics over the Shore, or JLOTS, has had to be moved back to the Israeli port of Ashdod. It is a pre-emptive safety measure, a US official said, and aid operations across the pier will be suspended until sea conditions allow for it to be moved back into place.

Humanitarian aid deliveries across the pier continued for a full day on Friday, the official said, and it is expected to be detached and towed to Ashdod late Friday night local time.

To date, the pier has been used to move thousands of tons of aid into Gaza, officials have said, but it has been plagued with logistical issues since becoming operational in May.

Last month, rough seas caused four US Army vessels supporting the pier to break free from their moorings and wash ashore on Israeli beaches. Also last month, the pier broke apart and sustained damage in heavy seas and had to be towed to Ashdod for repairs that took over a week. It was moved back to Gaza last week and resumed operations on Saturday but had to pause again due to heavy seas on Sunday and Monday.

Officials have told CNN that sea conditions in the eastern Mediterranean will only worsen as fall and winter approach, raising questions about the pier’s realistic lifespan.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme’s aid distribution operations at the pier have been suspended for days, and aid has