A damning Pentagon watchdog report reveals former President Biden’s Gaza pier project resulted in 62 U.S. service member injuries, dramatically higher than the three non-combat injuries officials announced at the time of its operation.

“Based on the information provided, we were not able to determine which of these 62 injuries occurred during the performance of duties or resulted off duty or from pre-existing medical conditions,” the Pentagon acknowledged in its investigation.

Touted by Biden during a March 2024 address to Congress as a “humanitarian breakthrough,” the pier in fact turned into an expensive debacle that operated for just 20 days despite deploying 1,000 American troops to the region. Originally pitched at $180 million, costs ballooned to between $230-320 million, prompting Republicans at the time to label it an “embarrassment” and a transparent “political stunt” by the Biden administration.

USAID staff had warned against the pier before Biden’s announcement, arguing that opening land crossings would be “more efficient and proven methods of transporting aid into Gaza.” However, their concerns fell on deaf ears as the White House pushed ahead with its ill-prepared plans.

The report blasts the operation for its poor execution, finding that “Army and Navy equipment including watercraft, piers, causeways and communication systems were not designed to work together.” Furthermore, basic considerations like “beach conditions and sea states” weren’t properly accounted for before sending troops into harm’s way.

Incredibly, Biden’s administration built the temporary pier during Israel’s windstorm season. Rough seas repeatedly hammered the structure, which lasted barely a week before sustaining its first major damage. Adding insult to injury, more than two dozen vessels and equipment were damaged during the three-month period, requiring an additional $31 million in repairs.

Delivering aid proved just as problematic as keeping the pier intact. In one telling incident, UN workers watched helplessly as desperate Arab gangs looted 11 of 16 aid trucks leaving the pier.