6/15/2024–|Last updated: 6/15/202402:07 AM (Mecca time)
US Central Command (Centcom) announced – yesterday, Friday – that it had decided to temporarily move the floating dock from its location on the coast of the Gaza Strip to the Israeli port of Ashdod again due to what was said to be expectations of rising sea waves.
Centcom said in a statement, “Today, due to expectations of high sea waves, the floating dock will be removed from its location in Gaza and moved again to Ashdod.”
The statement added that “US Central Command considers the safety of our service members a top priority,” and that moving the pier temporarily will prevent structural damage caused by rising sea waves.
She noted that she “did not take the decision to temporarily move the dock lightly, but it is necessary to ensure that the temporary dock continues to provide aid to Gaza in the future.”
After the expected period of high seas, the pier will be quickly reinstalled on the Gaza coast and the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza will resume.
On June 7, Centcom announced the reconstruction of the floating dock off the coast of Gaza designated for transporting limited amounts of aid to the besieged Strip, after its collapse “due to rough waves.”
The floating dock was opened on May 17, but it quickly collapsed after a week of operation due to the waves, and parts of it separated and reached the shore of the city of Ashdod.
Palestinian circles say that the purpose of establishing the floating dock is to “serve the hidden political interests” of Israel and the United States, contrary to what is portrayed by Washington and Tel Aviv as a “humanitarian step.”
In early June, the US Central Command also denied reports that the pier was used in the operation carried out by Israel to recover 4 prisoners in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, and considered any such claim to be incorrect.
This command confirmed that the Israeli army used the area south of the pier in its military operation to recover prisoners, stressing that the temporary pier was established on the Gaza coast for the purpose of helping transport aid to the Strip only.