 The pier, which the U.S. said would always be temporary, cost $230 million and was announced by President Biden during his State of the Union speech in March. There was confidence at the time that it would relieve some of the suffering in Gaza, but it has delivered only a fraction of the total humanitarian aid actually needed in Gaza, with most coming from land routes. Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Oil closed up 69 cents a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.