JERUSALEM —U.S. Forces continue to face terrorist obstacles in the Red Sea.
Since Sunday, U.S. forces successfully destroyed seven Iranian-backed Houthi drone boats and and seven aerial drones over the Red Sea or in a Houthi controlled area of Yemen, according to the U.S. Central Command.
Additionally on July 7, partner forces successfully destroyed two Houthi UAVs over the Gulf of Aden. There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or merchant vessels.
Meanwhile, the U.S. now is considering abandoning efforts to reinstall the pier that has been used to get badly needed humanitarian aid to starving Palestinians, two U.S. officials said Thursday.
The initial plan earlier this week had been to reinstall the pier for a few days to move the final pallets of aid onto the shore and then permanently remove it, but rough seas have prevented the reinstallation.
The White House and the Defense Department both said the pier will cease operations “soon” but would not specify timing. Other U.S. officials said the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command were actively discussing an early end to pier operations because weather and some maintenance problems make it far less desirable to reconnect it for just a short time.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said there is no final decision yet and that if the weather calms for a bit, there is a slim chance they could reattach it for a short time.
Across Washington, officials were signaling the end of what has been a mission fraught with weather and security problems, but which also has brought more than 19.4 million pounds (8.6 million kilograms) of aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza.
“Look, I see any result that produces more food, more humanitarian goods, getting to the people of Gaza as a success,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Thursday. ”It is additive. It is something additional that otherwise we would not have gotten there when it got there. And that is a good thing.”
Some aid still remains offshore and in Cyprus, but officials said they are looking at alternative plans to take the aid to the Israeli port at Ashdod. The port has been eyed as a likely replacement option for the movement of supplies from Cyprus to Gaza.
The continuing weather problems have forced the military to temporarily remove the pier three times since it was installed in May. And the project has also been hampered by security threats that prompted aid agencies to halt distribution of the food and other supplies into Gaza.
The aid groups have said that while any amount of food for Gaza is welcome, many have criticized the project as a costly distraction, saying the U.S. should concentrate on pressuring Israel to allow more aid through land borders, which have long been considered the most productive option.
The U.N. suspended all World Food Program deliveries from the the pier after a June 8 Israeli military raid that saved four Israeli hostages but killed hundreds of Palestinians, citing concerns that troops used an area near there for flying out the rescued hostages by helicopter.