The US Department of Defense said that the floating dock that it built off the coast of Gaza in mid-May to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians is still in the Israeli port of Ashdod, and that conditions do not allow it to be returned to its place off Gaza.

This was stated by Sabrina Singh, Deputy Spokesperson for the Pentagon, on Monday evening, in a closed press conference.

The pier previously suffered damage due to wind and waves on May 25, after days of operation, and was removed for some repairs.

On June 7, it was reinstalled and used for about a week, then it was removed again on June 14 due to bad weather conditions. Days later, it was reinstalled, but the waves forced the American forces to remove it for a third time on June 28.

Singh indicated that humanitarian aid in Greek Cyprus or on American ships will reach the residents of Gaza in one way or another, either through the temporary dock or through the port of Ashdod.

She stated that leaders are discussing whether to reinstall the pier or not, noting that weather conditions over the weekend did not allow for this, and that new news on the matter will be received this week.

She noted that they have shipped about 20 million pounds (25 million US dollars) of aid via the floating dock so far, claiming that this "is a success."

The American official stated that the dock was temporary from the beginning, and that they knew that the sea conditions near the end of the summer would not allow the temporary port to operate.