The Army confirmed on Monday that the U.S. soldier who was operating President Joe Biden’s Gaza aid pier earlier this year has died, according to CNN.
Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, suffered critical injuries while operating the floating pier in May, and was subsequently airlifted to an Israeli hospital and subsequently back to the U.S. for emergency care. Stanley was recently medically retired from his role in the military due to the injuries, a defense official told CNN.
“Stanley was injured while supporting the mission that delivered humanitarian aid to Gaza in May 2024 and was receiving treatment in long-term care medical center,” Capt. Shkeila Milford-Glover said in a statement, according to CNN.
He died on Oct. 31, though the cause of death has not been made public, according to CNN.
“Sgt Quandarius Stanley was an instrumental and well respected first line leader in the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary (TBX), especially during the mission to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza,” Col. John Gray said in a statement to CNN. “We will continue to provide support to his family during this difficult time. Our entire unit mourns alongside his family.”
Stanely and two other service members were injured during what the Pentagon has described as a non-combat incident while operating the staging platform of the pier in May, though the exact nature of the injuries was never made public. The other two suffered minor injuries, but Stanely’s were far more serious and required immediate emergency medical care.
After receiving care from an Israeli hospital, he was transferred to an emergency medical unit in Texas in June.
Biden’s Gaza pier has widely been seen as a catastrophic operation that failed to deliver a substantial amount of aid to Gaza and endangered the lives of U.S. service members assigned to operate the pier. Biden tasked the U.S. military in March with building the pier and opening it quickly, leaving defense officials scrambling to put a plan together.
The Biden administration went forward with the pier despite warnings from defense officials that it had could fail given the sea and weather conditions of the Mediterranean and security challenges on the ground in Gaza, according to a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Inspector General report released in August. Officials also warned it may be ineffective in delivering considerable aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, which ultimately ended up being the case.
The pier was opened in May and closed in July, far earlier than the Biden administration had hoped.
The Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Staff Sgt. Mikayla Fritz
