Current:Home > BackFloating Gaza aid pier temporarily dismantled due to rough seas-LoTradeCoin
Floating Gaza aid pier temporarily dismantled due to rough seas
View Date:2024-12-23 20:11:25
Just a week after a temporary offshore pier designed to bring desperately-needed humanitarian aid into war-torn Gaza reopened following repairs, authorities announced Friday that it is being temporarily dismantled yet again because of rough seas.
U.S. Central Command announced Friday that the U.S.-built pier was being removed from Gaza's coast and towed back to Ashdod, Israel, to prevent it from being damaged. The pier will be "rapidly re-anchored" once water conditions are calm, CENTCOM said, but did not provide an estimate on when that would be.
"The decision to temporarily relocate the pier is not made lightly but is necessary to ensure the temporary pier can continue to deliver aid in the future," the agency said in a statement.
The pier, which carried an estimated construction cost of $320 million, according to the Pentagon, was preassembled at the port of Ashdod. It was first installed May 17 off the coast of Gaza, but was only operational for about one week before it was broken apart by heavy seas.
It underwent repairs and reopened to aid delivers on June 8 before shuttering again Friday.
Since it was first installed, about 7.7 million pounds of aid have been delivered to Gaza via the pier, CENTCOM reported.
In April, Defense Department officials said the pier was expected to deliver about 90 trucks worth of aid a day, ramping up to 150 per day at full capacity.
President Biden first announced the maritime aid corridor during his State of the Union address in March. Mr. Biden said no U.S. troops will set foot in Gaza. There are about 1,000 U.S. service members devoted to the maritime corridor operation just off the coast.
Earlier Friday, the State Department announced that it had sanctioned an Israeli extremist group known as Tsav 9 for conducting attacks on aid convoys in the occupied West Bank designed to prevent aid deliveries to Gaza.
— Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.
- In:
- Hamas
- Israel
- Gaza Strip
Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.
veryGood! (451)
Related
- Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper Prove They're Going Strong With Twinning Looks on NYC Date
- See Pregnant Margot Robbie Debut Her Baby Bump
- Judge who nixed Musk’s pay package hears arguments on massive fee request from plaintiff lawyers
- 3 Columbia University officials lose posts over texts that ‘touched on ancient antisemitic tropes’
- Waymo’s robotaxis now open to anyone who wants a driverless ride in Los Angeles
- Bloomberg Philanthropies gifting $1 billion to medical school, others at John Hopkins University
- 3 killed when small plane crashes in western North Carolina mountains, officials say
- Teen safely stops runaway boat speeding in circles on New Hampshire’s largest lake
- Michael Grimm, former House member convicted of tax fraud, is paralyzed in fall from horse
- Back to Black Star Marisa Abela Engaged to Jamie Bogyo
Ranking
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom will spend part of week in DC as he tries to Trump-proof state policies
- Early Amazon Prime Day Deals: Get 68% Off Matching Sets That Will Get You Outfit Compliments All Summer
- American citizen working for drone company injured in Israel
- 'House of the Dragon' spoiler: Aemond actor on that killer moment
- Jack Del Rio leaving Wisconsin’s staff after arrest on charge of operating vehicle while intoxicated
- Ice Spice Reacts to Festival Audience Booing Taylor Swift Collab
- Teen brothers die in suspected drownings in Maine
- Is Boeing recovering the public's trust?
Recommendation
-
Trump pledged to roll back protections for transgender students. They’re flooding crisis hotlines
-
Tristan Thompson Shares Rare Photos of 7-Year-Old Son Prince
-
Temporary worker drop may be signaling slowing economy
-
Jessica Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen's daughter, fails to make 2024 equestrian Olympics team after winning silver in 2020
-
US overdose deaths are down, giving experts hope for an enduring decline
-
How Russia, Ukraine deploy new technologies, tactics on the battlefield
-
Swatting reports are increasing. Why are people making fake calls to police? | The Excerpt
-
Steph Curry laments losing longtime Warriors teammate Klay Thompson: 'It sucks'