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Israel-Gaza war
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Gaza aid pier to cost US at least US$320 million: Pentagon

  • US military ships are working to build a pier to bring more aid into the besieged Gaza Strip
  • Pentagon says the US$320 million price tag for the floating platform is a ‘rough estimate’

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Construction of a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip. Photo: US Central Command via AP
Agence France-Presse

The temporary pier being constructed by the US military to boost aid deliveries to Gaza will cost Washington at least US$320 million, the Pentagon said on Monday.

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“That’s about our rough estimate right now, approximately US$320 million,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists, adding: “That’s an initial cost for the temporary pier”.

The Pentagon announced on Thursday that construction of the pier had begun, saying it should be operational in early May.

At that point, aid will be transported via commercial vessels to a floating platform miles off the Gaza coast, where it will be transferred to smaller vessels, brought to the pier and taken to land by truck for distribution.

Plans for the pier were first announced by US President Joe Biden in early March as Israel held up deliveries of aid by ground.
US Navy personnel construct a ‘Joint Logistics Over-the Shore’ temporary pier. Photo: US Central Command via Reuters
US Navy personnel construct a ‘Joint Logistics Over-the Shore’ temporary pier. Photo: US Central Command via Reuters

Satellite photos analysed on Monday by Associated Press show the USNS Roy P. Benavidez about 8km (5 miles) from the port on shore, where the base of operations for the project is being built by the Israeli military.

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