Construction of a U.S. military port for humanitarian aid in Gaza is expected to take up to two months and will require more than 1,000 U.S. military personnel to complete, according to the Pentagon.
At a press conference Friday, spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters that at least 1,000 U.S. troops would be stationed at the port.
“We anticipate that we will need more than 1,000 U.S. troops to participate in building this capability,” Ryder said.
“In terms of time frame, it will take several weeks, probably up to 60 days, to send troops and build the causeway and pier,” he said.
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Smoke rises from a damaged residential building in Khan Yunis, seen from the city of Rafah, after an Israeli attack in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on January 11, 2024. (Abd Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ryder said the Department of Defense is immediately starting construction on the port.
“But again, we’re hitting the ground running in terms of moving things forward on this front,” Ryder said.
The spokesperson explained that the offshore pier ordered by President Biden will enable rapid humanitarian access to Gaza.
“Simply put, in order to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, we have set up a temporary sea pier that will allow transport vessels to transfer their cargo to smaller ships and offload their cargo onto a temporary causeway. “We plan to do so,” Ryder said.
Fishing boats in Gaza port at sunset, Gaza, November 2021. Photo: Majdi Fathi/TPS (Majidi Fatih/TPS)
Ryder emphasized that there were no boots on the ground.
“Planned initiatives include stationing U.S. military personnel on offshore warships, but do not require U.S. military personnel to come ashore,” Ryder said, adding that the White House will decide who will operate the ships. He said he was coordinating with like-minded countries to achieve this goal. We are distributing aid to the pier and to Gaza.
Ryder said Cyprus is being looked at as a potential location for aid supplies to be loaded onto ships and transported to floating piers.
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Once fully operational, the offshore pier is expected to provide more than 2 million meals to Gazans.
“Once operational, the actual amount of assistance provided will depend on many variables and will likely expand over time,” Ryder said. “However, with deliveries via JLOTS, we expect to be able to provide more than 2 million meals per day to Gaza residents.”
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris is standing on the left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is sitting on the right. (Shaun Hsu/Pool via AP)
President Biden made the announcement during a speech Thursday. union status Speech that the US military will build a port in Gaza.
The development was disclosed early Thursday by senior government officials discussing humanitarian aid to Hamas-controlled areas.
“In his speech tonight, the President will announce that he is directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to build a port on the Gaza coast in the Mediterranean that can accommodate large ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelter.” officials said. Said.
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“The port will feature a temporary jetty as its main feature and will be able to support hundreds of additional trucks each day,” another official added. “We coordinate with the Israeli side on ground security requirements and work with the United Nations and humanitarian NGOs. Understanding the distribution of aid within the Gaza Strip and Israeli settlements is made possible by a coalition of U.S. forces and partners and allies. It will come through Cyprus.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.
