The United States military will construct a temporary port and pier on the coastline of Gaza to provide a new route for providing humanitarian aid to desperate civilians there, senior administration officials said. Officials described the plan, to be announced in President Biden’s State of the Union speech Thursday night, as part of his orders to “flood the zone” with assistance arriving by air, land and sea.
Officials said that the port will include a temporary pier to offload aid that has been routed through Larnaca, in Cyprus, where it will undergo prior inspection by Israel. “The concept that’s been planned involves the presence of U.S. military personnel on military vessels offshore” from Gaza, “but does not require U.S. military personnel to go ashore to install the pier or causeway facility” or offload the aid, said one of three senior officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House.
Aid will be distributed inside Gaza by United Nations and other humanitarian personnel, the officials said. Humanitarian officials have said that famine conditions are present in northern Gaza, where more than a dozen children have died, and is threatened in the south.
Ship transport of aid, expected to begin within the next several weeks, will supplement airdrops by the United States and other countries. U.S. military planes conducted their third airdrop on Thursday and officials said there are more to come. They also said Israel has agreed to open a third border crossing for delivery of trucked food and medicine to northern Gaza, and to “facilitate” ongoing shipments by truck from Jordan to the southern part of the enclave.
Officials said that the port will include a temporary pier to offload aid that has been routed through Larnaca, in Cyprus, where it will undergo prior inspection by Israel. “The concept that’s been planned involves the presence of U.S. military personnel on military vessels offshore” from Gaza, “but does not require U.S. military personnel to go ashore to install the pier or causeway facility” or offload the aid, said one of three senior officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House.
Aid will be distributed inside Gaza by United Nations and other humanitarian personnel, the officials said. Humanitarian officials have said that famine conditions are present in northern Gaza, where more than a dozen children have died, and is threatened in the south.
Ship transport of aid, expected to begin within the next several weeks, will supplement airdrops by the United States and other countries. U.S. military planes conducted their third airdrop on Thursday and officials said there are more to come. They also said Israel has agreed to open a third border crossing for delivery of trucked food and medicine to northern Gaza, and to “facilitate” ongoing shipments by truck from Jordan to the southern part of the enclave.
