CENTCOM said four vessels had been freed from their moorings but the docks were still operational.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said a ship supporting a U.S.-built dock to deliver aid to Gaza was swept away by the waves.
In a statement Saturday, CENTCOM noted that while transporting humanitarian aid, a U.S. floating dock became separated from the small boat that was towing it and two of the vessels were unmoored, with two of the vessels now anchored on the beach near the dock.
Part of the dock later drifted to Israel’s Ashdod coast, while a third and fourth vessel beached itself on the Israeli coast near Ashkelon, CENTCOM added.
No injuries have been reported so far and efforts are underway to recover the vessel with support from the Israeli and US navies.
Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro, reporting from Washington, D.C., said the Pentagon had emphasized that the dock was still fully operational.
“They (the Department of Defense) have emphasized throughout this operation that no American troops will enter Gaza,” she added.
Construction of a $320 million floating dock to provide aid to Gaza was completed in mid-May.
The dock has been criticized as a complicated and expensive alternative that seeks to divert attention from Israel’s calls for a much simpler solution: fully opening all land routes to Gaza and securing entry for aid trucks.
But in March, U.S. President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address that the dock would “receive massive shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter.” This is largely seen as an attempt to appease Democratic supporters while he is running. for re-election in November
Meanwhile, Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Friday that the World Food Program had “secured 97 trucks since the floating docks became operational.”
“After a worrying start, the situation has stabilized,” Dujarric said.
“What we would like to see is large-scale assistance coming by land,” he added.
