The United States is to permanently halt operations using the temporary pier erected off the Gaza Strip coastline, the US military command responsible for the region has announced. An alternative route using the Israeli port of Ashdod to the north is in the planning stage, but details have not yet been released. From the outset, the pier was seen as a temporary solution to the problem of bringing aid in, but there have been repeated problems since it was put into operation in May. Rough seas severely damaged it, and distribution of aid from it to the population proved difficult. US Central Com…