An image shared on X claims to show the United States building a naval base in Gaza.

The US has started building its naval base on the ruins of Gaza. This is imperialism in its most naked, barbaric form. pic.twitter.com/gL4pTplkJX

— Paweł Wargan (@pawelwargan) March 15, 2024

Verdict: False

The U.S. is building a temporary pier, not a naval base, in Gaza. The image also doesn’t show a pier built by the U.S.

Fact Check:

The first Army vessel left the US and headed towards Gaza, according to The Associated Press. (RELATED: No, Time Magazine Didn’t Compare Justin Trudeau To Hitler)

Social media users are sharing a satellite image and claiming that the U.S. is building a naval base in Gaza. One user wrote, “The US has started building its naval base on the ruins of Gaza. This is imperialism in its most naked, barbaric form.”

This claim is false. President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union address that the U.S. would be building a temporary pier in Gaza to help with humanitarian aid. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a March 12 tweet that four vessels left from the U.S. in order to build a temporary pier.

On March 12, 2024, U.S. Army Vessels (USAV SP4 James A. Loux (LSV-6), USAV Monterrey (LCU30), USAV Matamoros (LCU26), and USAV Wilson Warf (LCU11) from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed Joint Base… pic.twitter.com/ROc3CoLNM1

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 12, 2024

“SP4 James A. Loux, Monterrey, Matamoros, and Wilson Warf are carrying equipment and supplies needed to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies,” the tweet partially states.

A Pentagon spokesperson told Check Your Fact that the claim the U.S. was building a naval base in Gaza was false. The Pentagon said that it would take about 60 days to construct the temporary pier, Politico reported.

Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the image actually shows a jetty that was already being built in Gaza. The satellite image was shared by Washington Post reporter Evan Hill.

Satellite images from March 12-14 show a new jetty being built just south of Gaza City. The jetty currently extends around 50m and is reportedly being built to offload an aid shipment from Spanish charity Open Arms that is coming from Cyprus.

📸: @Maxar pic.twitter.com/HxnxsMCl5H

— Evan Hill (@evanhill) March 14, 2024

“Satellite images from March 12-14 show a new jetty being built just south of Gaza City. The jetty currently extends around 50m and is reportedly being built to offload an aid shipment from Spanish charity Open Arms that is coming from Cyprus,” Hill tweeted, who said in a later tweet that it was different from the U.S. pier.

The World Central Kitchen is constructing a dock in Gaza for Open Arms aid shipment, according to France 24.