A floating pier being constructed by the U.S. military in Gaza as a means to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid is estimated to cost $320 million.
The estimated cost was provided to Reuters by a U.S. Department of Defense official and a source close to the project, according to the outlet.
While the estimated cost has not previously been announced, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) told the outlet that “the cost has not just risen. It has exploded,” from an initial estimate.
Wicker questioned “how much” taxpayers would be “on the hook” for once the pier was finally constructed.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh informed reporters during a press conference on Monday that this was a “temporary solution” to get humanitarian aid to people in Gaza facing famine.
You gotta be kidding https://t.co/vPUsgiuAby
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 20, 2024
“We’ve been clear this is a temporary solution to help get humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Singh said, according to the Stars and Stripes. “This is just one other way of getting aid in.”
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed on Friday that the U.S. military had started the construction of a “temporary pier and causeway at sea.”
The pier, called Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) is described as being a “floating pier” and a roughly “1,800-foot-long causeway that will be attached to the shore,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense website.
On its website, the Department of Defense wrote:
The component of the JLOTS include a floating pier, an approximately 1,800-foot-long causeway that will be attached to the shore, and a group of logisitc support vessels and barges that will transport the aid from the pier to the causeway.
The pier is reported to be on track to being fully operational by May 2024.
President Joe Biden first announced plans to build the pier in his State of the Union address in March.
In the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left 1,200 people dead and more than 200 people taken as hostages, Israel launched a self-defense operation in the Hamas-controlled territory of Gaza.
As the fighting between Israel and Hamas has continued, people in northern Gaza have been reported to be facing famine.
Several countries such as Britain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, France, Egypt, and the United States have conducted air drop missions to deliver humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza.
