US military pause construction of huge floating aid pier for Gaza due to adverse weather

The US military has "temporarily paused" the construction of the floating pier in the eastern Mediterranean to help get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that it was paused "due to sea state considerations".

"Forecasted high winds and high sea swells caused unsafe conditions for Soldiers working on the surface of the partially constructed pier", the post added.

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The US military shared images of a large floating pier last month and in its latest update did not provide a time for when the construction would resume.

The images showed personnel working on the JLOTS pier, which stands for Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore.

RFA vessel Cardigan Bay is supporting the US military's build of the pier by housing hundreds of American soldiers and sailors who are involved in its construction.

Cardigan Bay sailed from Cyprus to help support the international effort to build the pier, which will reportedly cost $320m and is set to be completed early next month.

In photos released by US Central Command, special construction vessels can be seen assembling the pontoon and a large vehicle is pictured moving and assembling shipment containers.

The 550-metre causeway will enable more aid to be brought into Gaza, including as many as two million meals a day.

So far, aid has had to be parachuted into Gaza, with a number of air drops being undertaken by an international coalition.

This has included nine drops from the Royal Air Force, with the most recent seeing 11 tonnes of lifesaving supplies flown to Gaza and dropped over populated areas.