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.