US defense secretary sees no signs that Hamas plans to attack US troops in Gaza

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that he does not see any indication that Hamas is planning an attack on US troops in the Gaza Strip.

"I don't discuss intelligence information at the podium," Austin said at a news conference in Hawaii when asked whether he has any credible information that the Palestinian group will target US troops building a pier off Gaza.

"But I don't see any indications currently that there is an active intent to do that," he added.

The US military is nearing the completion of a $320 million floating pier off Gaza’s coast to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.

Austin said it is combat zone and a number of things could happen.

"The safety and security of our troops is very important to me," he said, adding the US' allies are also providing security in that area as well.

The Pentagon announced on March 8 that it would undertake an emergency mission to establish the pier on the Gazan coast to deliver up to 2 million humanitarian aid meals per day.

The mission includes a floating pier -- an 1,800-foot-long causeway -- that will be attached to the shore and a group of logistic support vessels.

Israel's war in Gaza, which began after a Oct. 7 incursion by Hamas, has devastated the enclave and plunged its 2.3 million people into a humanitarian catastrophe.