Gaza aid port likely to take two months, 1,000 US troops to build: Pentagon

A floating pier intended to be used to deliver critical humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza is expected to take up to two months to construct and require as many as 1,000 U.S. servicemembers to complete, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson said Friday. 

The Defense Department will undertake the emergency mission to establish a temporary pier off the shore of Gaza using Navy and Army personnel, Press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters. 

“We anticipate that it’ll take over 1,000 U.S. forces to participate in building this capability,” Ryder said. “As far as timeframe … several weeks, likely up to 60 days in order to deploy the forces and construct the causeway and the pier.” 

The offshore pier “allows for shipping vessels to transfer cargo to smaller vessels to transport and offload cargo to a temporary causeway for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said, but stressed that there will be no U.S. boots on the ground in the enclave. 

“The concept that is being planned involves the presence of U.S. military personnel on military vessels offshore but does not require U.S. military personnel to go ashore,” Ryder explained, adding that Washington is working with other nations determine who will help with operating the causeway and distributing aid into Gaza as Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas continues.   

Cyprus has been identified as one of the locations where aid could be loaded onto ships and then taken to the floating pier, according to Ryder. 

The Pentagon has already identified elements of the Seventh Transportation Brigade Expeditionary from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., to help build the pier and causeway, which is expected to be 1,800 feet long and consist of two-lanes. No cost estimate is yet available for the effort. 

And once built, defense officials expect that deliveries via the pier could provide more than two million meals to Gaza citizens per day. 

The comments are the first new details of how a maritime corridor will work in getting desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza as millions face starvation. 

Biden had announced the pier in his annual State of the Union address Thursday night, and later told reporters Friday that the Israelis would provide security for the port. He has also pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza. 

The president, who has publicly voiced his frustration with Netanyahu’s unwillingness to allow more assistance into the territory, was captured on hot mic that he told his counterpart that they will need to have a “come-to-Jesus meeting.” 

In the meantime, the U.S. continues to conduct airdrops of aid into Gaza, the latest of which came Friday when Washington along with Jordan dropped over 11,500 meal equivalents. 

The Pentagon has now delivered roughly 124,000 meals over the past week in four airdrops, but the method is seen as inefficient, expensive and dangerous. At least five people were killed and 10 others injured when an aid airdrop malfunctioned, hitting people and landing on homes in Gaza Friday. 

Ryder said that none of the U.S. airdrops into the enclave caused civilian casualties. 

“Press reports that U.S. airdrops resulted in civilian casualties on the ground are false, as we’ve confirmed that all of our aid bundles landed safely on the ground,” he claimed.