In a startling reversal of a decision made just 48 hours earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked plea deals reached with three accused plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, including the alleged mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Austin also removed the head of the U.S. military commissions — who on Wednesday had approved the settlement agreements — from the 9/11 case, which has been mired in legal quagmire for two decades and is widely considered unlikely ever to go to trial.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is transferring his role to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks today as he prepares to undergo elective surgery.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement that Austin will undergo a “minimally invasive follow-up non-surgical procedure” that is related to his previous bladder issue.

The procedure will take place this evening at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

As early as this weekend, some 90 trucks will roll off a metal causeway onto a beach in Gaza.

Then the United Nations will deliver the much-needed food and medicine to Palestinians, some of whom are already suffering famine conditions. The United Nations said half of Gaza's more than 2 million people are starving.

But questions remain about whether this will be a successful operation. Senior military officials say tens of thousands of desperate residents could cluster at the end of the causeway, snarling the trucks and denying much needed aid.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s warning comes as the port off the coast of Gaza is expected to be ready sometime in early May.

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.

The rising costs of a floating pier off the coast of the embattled Gaza Strip – said to be aimed at enabling shipments of humanitarian aid to reach the civilian population trapped in the central and northern parts of the Palestinian enclave – has stoked controversy after it was revealed this week that the project will cost the U.S. upward of $320 million. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s opening remarks to lawmakers on Tuesday morning were repeatedly interrupted by protesters demanding the United States end its support for Israel.

The secretary’s initial statement in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee was interrupted by protesters who urged the U.S. to stop providing military support to Israel. The protesters, who were escorted out of the hearing room after the interruption, accused the U.S. of having Palestinian blood on its hands.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, ending his second stay since surgery to treat prostate cancer, and he has resumed his full duties, the Pentagon said.

Austin, 70, has had ongoing health issues since undergoing surgery in December. He was taken back to Walter Reed on Sunday for a bladder issue and admitted to intensive care for a second time. He underwent a non-surgical procedure under general anesthesia on Monday.

Austin’s doctors said Tuesday that his bladder issue was related to the surgery.