WASHINGTON: The temporary pier being built by the US military to boost aid deliveries to Gaza will cost Washington at least $320 million, said the Pentagon on Monday.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told the media that this is the rough estimate right now and the initial cost for the temporary pier.
The Pentagon on Thursday announced that the construction of the pier had been started adding it should be functional in early May.
It said that the aid would be shifted via commercial ships to a floating platform near the Gaza coast, where it would be transferred again to smaller boats, brought to the pier, and taken to land through trucks for distribution.
US President Joe Biden announced plans for the pier in early March as Israel stopped deliveries on the ground.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has been facing relentless bombardment for more than six months, is dire.
A senior US administration official last week said Gaza’s entire population of 2.2 million people is facing food insecurity.
According to the Gaza health ministry, Israel’s offensive has killed at least 34,488 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.
