The US military has finished construction of a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
“As of today, the U.S. military has completed offshore construction of the Trident pier section, or bridge, which is the component that will eventually be anchored off the coast of Gaza,” said Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, to reporters.
The project, known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) capability, consists of two pieces, a floating dock where ships can unload aid – completed last week – and a passage section intended to be attached to the Gaza coast. , in which trucks can transport aid delivered by ships to the continent.
The two parts of JLOTS “are completed and awaiting final movement overseas,” Singh said. She added that bad weather prevented the US military from doing so.
“Today there are still forecasts of strong winds and large sea waves, which are causing unsafe conditions for the movement of JLOTS components, which is why the pier sections and the military ships involved in their construction are still positioned in the Port of Ashdod” in Israel, she said.
The completion of JLOTS in the Mediterranean Sea comes at a time when humanitarian conditions in Gaza are worsening by the day, with the United Nations and humanitarian organizations in the territory warning that the region has fallen into famine due to a severe lack of access to food and supplies. doctors. .
The situation is expected to become more serious with Tuesday’s military takeover by Israel of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, the only entry point for humanitarian aid between Gaza and Egypt.
Although the pier is not in position, Singh said the US is loading aid onto the MV Sagamore, currently in Cyprus, but it is expected to be the first ship to transport assistance from there to the pier.
“The Sagamore is a cargo ship that will utilize the JLOTS system and travel between Cyprus and the offshore floating dock as USAID and other partners collect aid from around the world,” noted Singh.
She added that defense officials hope to have JLOTS in position “later this week.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
