US Military's Stop-start Gaza Pier to Resume Operations

Ships appear near the pier established by the US in Gaza (Reuters)
Ships appear near the pier established by the US in Gaza (Reuters)
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US Military's Stop-start Gaza Pier to Resume Operations

Ships appear near the pier established by the US in Gaza (Reuters)
Ships appear near the pier established by the US in Gaza (Reuters)

The US military's on-again, off-again floating pier in Gaza is expected to resume operations on Thursday to unload sorely needed humanitarian aid for Palestinians, two US officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the pier had been re-attached to the shore on Wednesday after being temporarily removed last Friday due to poor sea conditions.

Aid began arriving via the US-built pier on May 17, and the UN said it transported 137 trucks of aid to warehouses, some 900 metric tons.

But then rough seas damaged the pier, forcing repairs, and poor weather and security considerations have limited the number of days it has been operational.

US President Joe Biden announced in March the plan to put the pier in place for aid deliveries as famine loomed in Gaza, a Hamas-run enclave of 2.3 million people, during the war between Israel and the Palestinian militants.

The US military estimates the pier will cost more than $200 million for the first 90 days and involve about 1,000 service members.

It is unclear how much longer it will be operational.

Speaking at the Pentagon on Tuesday, spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder declined to say when the military might halt its pier operations altogether. He said the pier has so far allowed for a total of over 3,500 metric tons of aid to reach Gaza's shores.

"With the caveat that this has always been intended to be a temporary pier, I'm not aware at this point of any established date of: 'This is when we're going to stop,'" he told reporters.

"And again, taking a step back here, the big picture: Whether it be by land, sea or air, (the United States is) employing all avenues to get assistance into Gaza."



More Than 20 Killed as Israeli Strikes Pound Lebanon

This picture shows the destruction at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Majdel Balhis in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on November 9, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
This picture shows the destruction at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Majdel Balhis in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on November 9, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
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More Than 20 Killed as Israeli Strikes Pound Lebanon

This picture shows the destruction at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Majdel Balhis in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on November 9, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)
This picture shows the destruction at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Majdel Balhis in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on November 9, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Hassan JARRAH / AFP)

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon over the last day have killed more than 20 people including several children, Lebanese authorities said on Saturday, after heavy Israeli bombardment pounded the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut overnight.
At least seven people were killed in the coastal city of Tyre late on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said. The Israeli military has previously ordered swathes of the city to evacuate but there were no orders published by the Israeli military spokesperson on social media platform X ahead of Friday's strikes.
The ministry said two children were among the dead. Rescue operations were ongoing and other body parts retrieved in the aftermath of the attack would undergo DNA testing to identify them, the ministry added.
At least 16 more people were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday across the eastern plains around the historic city of Baalbek, the area's governor said in a post on social media platform X.
Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Lebanese health ministry said Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,136 people and wounded 13,979 in Lebanon over the last year. The toll includes 619 women and 194 children.
Israel has been locked in fighting with Hezbollah since October 2023, but fighting has escalated dramatically since late September of this year. Israel has intensified and expanded its bombing campaign, and Hezbollah has ramped up daily rocket and drone attacks against Israel.
The Iran-backed group announced more than 20 operations on Saturday, as well as one that it said fighters carried out the previous day against a military factory south of Tel Aviv.
More than a dozen Israeli strikes also hit the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight.
Now, many buildings have been almost entirely flattened, with Hezbollah's yellow flags jutting out from the ruins, according to Reuters reporters who were taken on a tour of the area by Hezbollah.

Some buildings were partially damaged by the strikes, leading some floors to collapse and sending furniture and other personal belongings spilling onto parked cars below.

Men and women were picking through the rubble for their belongings, shoving blankets and mats under their arms or into black plastic bags.
"We are trying to gather as many (of our possessions) as we can, so we can manage to live off them, nothing more," said Hassan Hannawi, one of the men looking for his belongings.