WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union speech that the US military will construct a temporary port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian aid by sea.
The temporary port will increase the amount of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians by “hundreds of additional truckloads” per day, officials say.
Planning for the operation, initially based on the island of Cyprus, does not envisage the deployment of US military personnel in Gaza, officials told a news briefing. The UN warns that a quarter of the population is on the brink of famine.
The president made the official announcement during his State of the Union address on Thursday. He said the port, which will be built by the US military, will involve a temporary pier to transport supplies from ships at sea to the shore.
It is not clear who will build the causeway or secure the aid on land, meaning crucial questions about whether the operation can succeed remain unanswered.
The port will take “a number of weeks” to set up, officials have said, and will be able to receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters. Initial shipments will arrive via Cyprus, where Israeli security inspections will take place.
“A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day,” President Biden said. He added that Israel must “do its part” by allowing more aid to enter into the territory and to “ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire”.
“Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip.”
Israel’s military launched an air and ground campaign in Gaza after Hamas’s attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage.
More than 30,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry says.
