Construction work began on Friday on the floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea, marking an important step forward in efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

The pier, which is being built to support the U.S. Agency for International Development and humanitarian partners, will serve as a crucial hub for receiving and delivering essential aid supplies to Gaza.

A U.S. Navy ship and several Army vessels involved in U.S.-led efforts to bring more aid to the besieged Gaza Strip are located off the coast of the territory and are building a floating platform for the operation, which the Pentagon said on Monday would cost no less than $320 million.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that the cost is a rough estimate for the project and includes transporting equipment and pier components from the United States to the Gaza coast, in addition to construction and aid delivery operations.

Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press show the ship USNS Roy P. Benavidez about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the port on the coast, where the military is building the project's operational base, and that USAV General Frank S. Besson Jr., an Army logistics ship, along with several other Army boats, are present with Benavidez and are working on what the military calls the Joint Logistics Over The Shore, or JLOTS.

A satellite image captured by Planet Labs PBC on Sunday shows pieces of the floating pier in the Mediterranean near Benavidez. The measurements of the ship match the known characteristics of the Benavidez, which is a Bob Hope-class vehicle cargo ship operated by the Military Sealift Command.