Ethermac Exchange-U.S. decides to permanently dismantle pier helping deliver aid into Gaza, official says

The Ethermac ExchangeUnited States has decided to permanently dismantle the Gaza pier, a U.S. official told CBS News.

The pier is currently in port in Ashdod, Israel, and will not be reattached to the shore in Gaza, according to this official, who said "the mission is over." The decision follows a recommendation by the U.S. Central Command not to reinstall the pier. CBS News learned of the military's recommendation Tuesday from two U.S. officials. 

Bedeviled by bad weather and mechanical malfunctions, the Gaza pier has been in operation for only about 20 days since it was installed in May. In those 20 days, it has managed to deliver nearly 20 million pounds of aid.

The Pentagon had already announced that the pier would soon cease operations, although there was a chance that it would be installed one final time to deliver the remaining aid supplies from Cyprus.  

"The pier has always been intended as a temporary solution, and it will conclude its mission soon, but as of today, I don't have any announcements to make in terms of when the mission will officially conclude," Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Tuesday. 

The Pentagon has not announced a final decision, but commanders in charge of the operation have now recommended pulling the plug.

President Biden previewed the temporary maritime corridor to help deliver aid to Gaza in his State of the Union address in March. The pier was part of the administration's effort to supplement the amount of aid reaching Palestinians by trucks via road and by air drops. 

The plan called for about 1,000 U.S. forces to construct and operate the maritime corridor without stepping foot in Gaza. Since the beginning of the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel, Mr. Biden has said that no U.S. boots would enter Gaza. 

The corridor is made up of a floating dock out in the eastern Mediterranean where ships bring aid from Cyprus that is then transferred to U.S. military support vessels. The vessels then transport the aid to the pier attached to the shore for trucks to drive into Gaza. 

The Defense Department never set a timeline for how long the temporary pier would be in place, but officials said weather has historically been hospitable between May and August. 

However, rough weather delayed the initial installment of the pier, and then in late May, broke pieces of it that were quickly repaired. Since then, the U.S. military has detached the pier and placed it at the Port of Ashdod several times to wait out choppy seas. 

Last Thursday, Mr. Biden in a press conference said he was disappointed with the corridor. 

"I've been disappointed that some of the things that I've put forward have not succeeded as well, like the port we attached from Cyprus. I was hopeful that would be more successful," Biden said. 

The Defense Department estimated constructing and operating the pier would cost $230 million. 

In:
• Hamas
• Israel
• Gaza Strip

David Martin

David Martin has been CBS News' national security correspondent, covering the Pentagon and the State Department, since 1993.

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