Jewish Israel: Gaza Pier Repairs Will Cost US Military at Least $22 Million – Total Cost $230 million

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The Pentagon says the estimate for the overall cost of the project has lowered from $320 million to about $230 million

The repairs to the US-built pier that was damaged off the coast of Gaza will cost at least $22 million, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing two Pentagon officials.

The US military is currently working to repair the pier in the Israeli port of Ashdod and the total cost could rise as high as $28 million. The pier broke apart due to heavy seas as it was not capable of handling waves bigger than one or two feet.

While the repairs have a huge price tag, the Pentagon has also said the estimate of the overall cost of the project has lowered from about $320 million to $230 million. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said at least some of the repair costs were factored into the new estimate.

According to the Post, the new estimate is due to “lower-than-expected expenses for contracted vehicles and drivers, and Britain’s contribution of a military vessel to house the US troops involved in the operation.”

Despite the disastrous start, the Pentagon is looking to reconnect the pier to Gaza’s shore later this week. For the brief time it was operating, barely any aid trucks entered Gaza through the pier, and Israel’s starvation blockade on Gaza has been tightened since Israel captured the Rafah border crossing on May 7.

President Biden ordered the construction of the pier instead of pressuring Israel to open more land border crossings, which is by far the more efficient way to get more aid into Gaza.

According to a report from The Jerusalem Post, the idea to build the pier actually came from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who proposed it to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in October. A reporter for Israel’s Kan news said in March that during a meeting of the Knessett’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Netanyahu suggested using the pier to remove Palestinians from Gaza.

Source: https://news.antiwar.com/2024/06/06/gaza-pier-repairs-will-cost-us-military-at-least-22-million/