A temporary dock built by the U.S. military to deliver aid to Gaza has been damaged by waves and will take at least a week to repair, U.S. officials said.
A few weeks ago, the U.S. military began construction of the floating pier, which is connected to the Gaza coastline through a temporary causeway.
According to reports, the causeway section of the project is now broken and must be repaired before it can be restored to its original shape.
Humanitarian organizations have warned that the amount of aid being provided to Palestinians in Gaza is only a fraction of what is needed to meet the needs of their people.
U.S. officials first announced the terminal in March, Consists of two main parts: Large floating dock consisting of steel sections and a two-lane 1,800 ft (548 m) causeway and pier.
The causeway portion of the project consists of a series of interconnected 40 ft (12 m) steel members that are joined together and anchored to the shore.
On Tuesday, U.S. officials told the BBC’s U.S. partner CBS that part of the causeway broke amid strong waves.
While it is tethered to the Gaza coastline, it will need to be dismantled and transported to the Israeli port of Ashed for repairs before it can be reconnected to the causeway and returned to service.
Mick Mulroy, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and co-founder of Fogbow, a private company involved in the Gaza terminal project, told the BBC that weather-related delays were “expected” to “pose a challenge”.
“But these challenges are surmountable, and the mission itself is worth the effort,” he said. “People are in desperate need of assistance and this is one way to provide it.”
On May 17, the US military confirmed that the first batch of humanitarian aid supplies had been shipped to Gaza through the terminal, but in another incident last weekend, four ships supporting the terminal escaped in “rough waters” Anchor, two of them ran aground.
In a previous incident, three US soldiers participating in the Gaza dock mission were also injured. One of them was seriously injured and has been evacuated to an Israeli hospital.
Reuters quoted a spokesman for the United Nations World Food Program as saying that since the terminal began operations, the United Nations has transported a total of 137 trucks of aid materials, approximately 900 tons, from the terminal.
Despite growing concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he remained committed to a “total victory” in Rafah, Hamas’s stronghold in the Gaza Strip The last remaining urban stronghold in the south.
Israel’s military operation in Gaza began on October 7 after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking another 252 people hostage.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the war, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas.
