The Pentagon on Monday dismissed what it called “inaccurate” reports on social media that Israel used the U.S.-built pier near Gaza during a deadly weekend hostage rescue mission.
U.S. officials said American intelligence was used to help rescue the four hostages in an Israeli military operation that, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, killed 274 Palestinians.
But Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that the pier was not used for the special operation to rescue hostages kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, seeking to dispel “some of the inaccurate social media claims.” about the attack.
“The pier facilities, including their equipment, personnel and assets, were not used in the [Israeli military’s] operation to rescue hostages in Gaza,” Ryder said. “Any statement to the contrary is false.”
Ryder acknowledged that “there was some type of helicopter activity” near the pier, but referred further questions to the Israeli military about the nature of its operation because it was “not associated” with the operation at the US pier.
Ryder said he would not “go into detail in terms of what the intelligence support may or may not have been like” and emphasized that there was no US military involvement in the rescue operation, nor were there any US troops on the ground.
Ryder also said he doesn’t believe misperceptions about the pier’s use put U.S. forces at greater risk in the region.
The US military has been working since March to build and maintain a floating dock off the coast of Gaza for aid deliveries during the war between Israel and Hamas that has driven the enclave and its 2.3 million Palestinian residents to famine.
The pier became active on May 17th, but aid deliveries had to be suspended on May 28th for more than 10 days, when a piece broke due to rough seas.
The part was repaired and the pier was re-anchored by the US military on June 7, but other poor sea conditions prevented assistance once again.
Ryder said deliveries were now expected to resume on Tuesday, even though the United Nations has said it must review the safety of the situation before aid deliveries from the docks can begin again.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
