The American pier being used to deliver aid to Gaza will be temporarily moved to an Israeli port to protect it from anticipated high seas, the US military has said, AFP reports.

The pier was only reattached to the Gaza shore a week ago, after suffering storm damage in May that required repairs at Ashdod, where it will return to avoid the latest bad weather.

“Today, due to expected high seas, the temporary pier will be removed from its anchored position in Gaza and towed back to Ashdod, Israel,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post.

“The safety of our service members is a top priority and temporarily relocating the pier will prevent structural damage caused by the heightened sea state,” it said. Aid deliveries via the pier — which have totalled over 3,500 metric tonnes (7.7 million pounds) so far — will resume after the sea has calmed, CENTCOM added.

In a more serious challenge to efforts to deliver aid by sea, the UN World Food Programme has suspended the distribution of assistance that arrives via the pier to assess the security situation.