US-built pier in Gaza reconnected after repairs, aid expected to flow soon, US Central Command says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key section of the U.S. military-built pier designed to carry badly needed aid into Gaza by boat has been reconnected to the Gaza beach following storm damage repairs, and aid will begin to flow soon, U.S. Central Command announced Friday.

The section that connects to the beach, the causeway, was rebuilt nearly two weeks after heavy storms damaged it and abruptly halted what had already been a troubled delivery route. Humanitarian aid is expected to begin moving into the enclave through the maritime route in the coming days.

A large section of the causeway broke apart May 25 as heavy winds and high seas hit the area, and four Army vessels operating there went aground, injuring three service members, including one who remains in critical condition. The damage was the latest stumbling block in what has been a persistent struggle to get food to starving Palestinians during the nearly 8-month-old Israel-Hamas war.

Bad weather had earlier slowed the delivery of sections of the pier and U.S. military personnel from Virginia to the region. And early efforts to get aid from the pier into Gaza were disrupted as residents stormed the trucks that aid agencies were using to transport the food to the warehouses for distribution.