The U.S. Agency for International Development's inspector general said in a report released Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the construction of a temporary pier off Gaza despite the agency's concerns that the project would undermine efforts to pressure Israel to allow more aid into the territory through land crossings.

The report said that several USAID officials “expressed concerns” that focusing on the pier “would detract from the agency’s call to open land crossings, which are seen as more efficient and reliable ways to move aid into Gaza.”

When President Biden first ordered the sidewalk to be built during his State of the Union address on March 7, aid groups called the move a “public relations stunt.”

They noted that it would be more efficient to deliver aid through land crossings, most of which Israel has kept closed to aid.

The Pentagon was also aware that using the dock in the eastern Mediterranean would be difficult due to weather conditions.

The Pentagon's guidelines for the pier "stated that its use was weather-dependent and that it could not be operated in conditions exceeding what is known as Sea State 3, or short, moderate waves. However, the Mediterranean is often in Sea State 4 with large winds and waves," the report said.

Weather put the pier out of service several times during its brief operation off the coast of Gaza. The pier operated for only 20 days and delivered a fraction of the aid that USAID said it was supposed to deliver because of rough seas and the lack of a real plan for delivering the aid.

“Due to structural damage caused by stormy weather and rough seas, the pier operated for only 20 days and was decommissioned on July 17. In addition, aid distributions once ashore suffered from security and access challenges,” the report said. “As a result, USAID failed to achieve its goal of providing assistance to 500,000 or more Palestinians each month for three months, and instead delivered enough assistance to feed 450,000 people for one month.”

The failed project cost the United States $230 million, the report said. At one point, rough seas caused the pier to break, costing at least $22 million to repair.

The project also threatened to escalate U.S. involvement in the genocidal war in Gaza, as U.S. forces operating directly off the coast could have become targets for Hamas rockets.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged the risk of US forces being attacked and said they would have the authority to fire on Gaza.