(CNN) — The US military is expected to temporarily dismantle the humanitarian pier it constructed off the coast of Gaza and move it back to Israel on Friday night, amid concerns that heavy seas could once again break it just days after it resumed aid delivery operations, multiple US officials said.
It will be the second time in a matter of weeks that the fragile pier and causeway system, known as Joint Logistics over the Shore or JLOTS, has had to be moved back to the Israeli port of Ashdod. It is a pre-emptive safety measure, a US official said.
Humanitarian aid deliveries across the pier continued for a full day on Friday, the official said, and it is expected to be detached and towed to Ashdod late Friday night local time.
The pier has been plagued with problems. Earlier this month, it broke apart and sustained damage in heavy seas and had to be towed to Ashdod for repairs that took over a week. It was moved back to Gaza last week and resumed operations on Saturday but had to pause again due to heavy seas on Monday and Tuesday.
CNN reported on Thursday that the US military was considering dismantling the pier.
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