A floating pier and causeway that will be used to deliver critical humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza is expected to take at least one month or possibly as long as two for the US military to build and become fully operational, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Friday.

Ryder also said the construction of the pier and causeway will likely require as many as 1,000 US military personnel to complete.

The extended timeline reflects the complicated nature of the project, which is the second such extraordinary measure the Biden administration has announced in just under a week to try to alleviate the desperate humanitarian situation facing Palestinians in Gaza caused by Israel's refusal to open additional land crossings or surge more aid by land into the enclave as it continues to fight Hamas.