The United Nations is transporting thousands of tons of humanitarian supplies from a US-built pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip after the temporary port was suspended due to bad weather, an aid official said on Sunday.
Workers began transporting the piled-up aid, mostly food, to warehouses on Friday, World Food Programme (WFP) spokeswoman Abeer Etefa told dpa. The aid will be distributed later.
The transfer operation is underway and its completion depends on the “ease of movement” within the coastal enclave, Etefa added, saying she has no idea of the fate of the pier.
The port was dismantled several times due to bad weather. The $300 million pier became operational in mid-May and served as a hub for the delivery of much-needed relief supplies to Gaza.
On Friday, the Pentagon said the U.S. military was temporarily dismantling the pier due to heavy seas and strong winds. No date was given for the facility’s reinstallation.
The WFP, a UN agency, recently halted aid distribution following a large-scale Israeli military operation near the pier.
Israel has been bombarding Gaza for months, ever since Palestinian Hamas militants launched unprecedented bloody attacks on Israel last October, including killing civilians.
Israel responded to the attacks by sealing off the impoverished area. A lack of basic services has led to a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
