President Joe Biden announced plans in Thursday’s State of the Union address to help the U.S. military establish a temporary port on the Gaza coast and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to areas besieged by the Israel-Hamas war, the administration said. He announced that he plans to make an announcement. officials.
The operation will see U.S. troops on the ground to build a pier to allow for further shipments of food, medicine and other supplies, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the announcement. He said there was no need.
Officials did not provide details on how the pier would be constructed. One noted that the U.S. military has “unique capabilities” and can operate from “right offshore.”
The move adds another layer to the unusual dynamic that has arisen as the United States has had to find ways to bypass Israel, its main Middle East ally, to get aid to Gaza, including airdrops. became.
Biden first floated the idea of creating a “maritime corridor” last week, saying the United States was working with allies on how to provide aid to people in the Gaza Strip from the sea.
Gen. Eric Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he briefed officials on such maritime options.
Also on Thursday, the United States conducted its third airdrop in northern Gaza, where there is no Israeli presence.
Kurilla said Central Command is offering options to increase the number of trucks delivering aid to these areas.
Five months of fighting between Israel and Hamas have left much of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in ruins, leading to a worsening humanitarian devastation.
Many Palestinians, especially those living in the devastated north, are scrambling for food to survive.
Aid groups said difficulties in coordinating with Israeli forces, ongoing hostilities and a breakdown in security have made it nearly impossible to deliver supplies in large parts of the Gaza Strip.
