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The United States has officially set a date for the removal of a pier built by the US military to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Initially installed to facilitate aid delivery to Gaza, the pier will be reinstalled on Wednesday after being temporarily removed due to adverse weather conditions. However, this reinstallation will only be temporary, as the pier is set to be permanently dismantled 7 days after.

This decision marks the end of a project that has faced numerous challenges and increased criticism from lawmakers. Aid distribution had already been halted due to security concerns for those distributing the aid. According to the Pentagon, “The pier was only a temporary project, designed to prod Israel into opening and allowing aid to flow better through land routes.”

Despite this, many aid groups have criticized the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, often blaming Israel or poor mismanagement from the US-led effort. Issues with distributing humanitarian aid have led independent UN experts, including Michael Fakhri, to state that “famine has spread from northern Gaza into central and southern Gaza.”

In a report released on Tuesday, United Nations experts revealed increased evidence of Palestinian children dying from “hunger and malnutrition.” The UN cited the cases of Fayez Ataya, a six-month-old, Abdulqader Al-Serhi, a 13-year-old, and Ahmad Abu Reida, a nine-year-old, all of whom showed signs of death due to “malnutrition and lack of access to adequate healthcare.”