Live updates from Israel and Gaza: Official report: Military pier to be taken offline again

According to a US official, the US military pier in Gaza will be taken offline on Friday due to high seas and relocated to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

This is a precautionary measure to prevent the pier from collapsing in heavy waves, the official said.

This is the third time the pier has had to be relocated to Ashdod due to weather conditions. Since its opening in mid-May, the pier has only been in operation for about half of the time.

“I don’t have a date when the pier will be reinstalled,” Defense Department deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Friday, noting that Centcom would assess conditions at sea over the weekend.

As the pier was being removed on Friday, two U.S. officials told ABC News that authorities were considering not rebuilding the pier until the humanitarian aid it brought to Gaza is distributed. More than 19 million pounds of aid was delivered to Gaza via the pier, but that is now piling up at the collection point at the edge of the pier, Singh said.

The Pentagon and U.S. Agency for International Development inspectors general said Thursday they were beginning a review of the mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza through the military’s makeshift pier system.

-Anne Flaherty and Luis Martinez of ABC News