Speaking at a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Austin told lawmakers that it was "possible" U.S. servicemembers could be shot while operating the pier off the coast of Gaza.
"Typically, all of the deployed service members carry guns and they have the ability to protect themselves if challenged," Austin said.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) questioned if that meant U.S. troops would shoot back, and Austin replied in the affirmative.
“They have the right to return fire to protect themselves,” Austin added.
President Biden first announced a pier off the coast of Gaza during his State of the Union address in early March.
The $320 million pier will help get critical humanitarian aid into Gaza once it comes online, which it is expected to within a matter of days.
The threat of U.S. forces coming under attack has raised multiple concerns in Washington, with lawmakers questioning how the roughly 1,000 American troops on the mission will stay out of the line of fire.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned the pier effort along with 10 other senators.
"We are concerned that the mission entails a significant risk to U.S. personnel," they wrote in a letter to Biden earlier this month. "This decision appears to ignore force protection issues entirely against an enemy that tries to kill Americans every day."
The concerns become more apparent last week when militants fired rockets at Israeli troops around the site of the pier on the shore of Gaza.
Still, U.S. officials have stressed that the military is working closely with Israel on a robust security plan for the pier once it's up and running.
The pier will involve the U.S. military working with a floating dock miles from Gaza that receives aid from humanitarian aid groups arriving from the island of Cyprus.
The aid is then transported on small Army boats to a pier attached to the shore of Gaza and offloaded into the coastal strip. No U.S. boots will be on the ground in Gaza in the operation.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
