A floating US aid ferry has been moved off the Gaza coast again due to high seas and will be towed to an Israeli port, the Pentagon said on Friday.
This is the third time the ferry has been separated from the shore due to weather conditions since its establishment in mid-May, and there are also difficulties in distributing aid once it reaches Gaza.
“Due to expected high seas this weekend, Central Command has removed the floating pier from its anchorage in Gaza and will be towing it back to Ashdod, Israel,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters, citing the military command responsible for the Middle East.
He said he did not have a date for when the pier would be re-established, and that “commanders will continue to assess sea conditions over the weekend.”
The pier was first installed off the Gaza coast in mid-May but was later damaged by bad weather and had to be removed for repairs.
It was subsequently re-attached on 7 June, but was moved to Ashdod on 14 June to protect it from possible high seas and storms – a situation that is now being repeated.
While the wharf was operational it was used to transport large amounts of aid to the shore.
“Since May 17, Central Command has assisted in the transport of over 8,831 metric tons or approximately 19.4 million pounds of humanitarian assistance to the shore for further distribution by humanitarian organisations,” Singh said.
But distribution has been a problem, as the UN World Food Programme suspended aid supplies arriving via the ferry earlier this month to assess the security situation.
The move came after Israel freed four hostages in a military operation nearby, but the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said more than 270 Palestinians had been killed in the operation.
As a result, aid is piling up at marshalling yards, from where it is transported to the coast.
“There’s still some wiggle room, but I would say the majority is pretty much filled right now,” Singh said.
Gaza has been grappling with a war that began after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7. According to an AFP count based on Israeli figures, the attack killed 1,195 people, most of them civilians.
The militants also seized hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, though the military says 42 have been killed.
At least 37,765 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures.
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