The US military will build a floating pier to transport aid to Gaza, the White House says
Facing warnings that the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is on the brink of widespread famine, the United States on Thursday announced plans for a large-scale, amphibious military operation in the Mediterranean that would ferry food and other aid to desperate civilians in the enclave. .
U.S. officials outlined the plan, which would involve the United States more directly in providing aid, hours before President Biden was scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address on Thursday evening. Details about what they described as a floating pier off the coast of Gaza would be included in the speech, the officials said.
The White House called it an “emergency mission” that would allow hundreds of truckloads of additional aid to be delivered to Gaza through the temporary port, which would be attached to some kind of temporary causeway.
Briefing reporters, officials said it could take more than 30 to 60 days to implement, and would involve hundreds or thousands of U.S. troops on ships just off the coast, in accordance with the mandate of the Mr Biden that there should be no American soldiers on the ground in Gaza as the conflict rages. The port would be built in collaboration with other countries in the region, officials said.
U.S. officials said they had “worked closely” with the Israelis in developing the seaport initiative, but they did not specify whether Israel would provide direct assistance or support for its construction or operation.
Shani Sasson, spokeswoman for COGAT, the Israeli agency that regulates aid to Palestinians in Gaza, did not respond to a request for comment. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic negotiations, said that under the latest plan, aid donated by the United Arab Emirates would be sent to Cyprus, where it would eventually be inspected and then shipped by ship to the coast of Cyprus would be transported. Gaza.
The new facility could be another way to get truckloads of aid into the region. But it would not solve a central problem of aid distribution within Gaza, as heavy fighting and Israeli bombing continue in the south, and lawlessness in the north has become so bad that aid groups are halting operations there.
So far, the United States has pressured Israel to allow more aid into Gaza through two border crossings and recently joined France and Jordan in dropping aid from planes, including 38,000 meals on Thursday.
The number of trucks entering Gaza carrying food and other aid increased in early March compared to February, according to United Nations data. But the flow is still much lower than before the conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
The new project gives Mr. Biden a concrete program to point to at a time when he is facing sharp criticism for failing to curb Israel’s attacks and for moving too slowly to address the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.
And while U.S. officials have held wide-ranging, multinational talks seeking a temporary ceasefire, hopes of an imminent ceasefire after five months of war were further dimmed Thursday when Hamas negotiators left the Cairo talks without a breakthrough.
International mediators have tried to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that would see the release of some hostages in Gaza and Palestinians in Israeli prisons, but weeks of indirect negotiations appear to have stalled. Hamas wants Israel to commit to a permanent ceasefire during or after the release of hostages, a demand Israel has rejected.
The lull in the talks comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has vowed to continue his country’s offensive against Hamas, including in the southern city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in vast makeshift tent camps after facing Israeli bombardments in other countries have fled. parts of Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu acknowledged that he was facing mounting international pressure as health officials in Gaza reported that the toll in the territory had surpassed 30,000 deaths.
“Especially when international pressure is increasing, we must close ranks,” Netanyahu said in a speech on Thursday. “We must unite against the attempts to stop the war.”
He added that Rafah was Hamas’s “last stronghold.”
“Anyone who tells us not to operate in Rafah is telling us to lose the war – and that won’t happen,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also signaled on Thursday Israel’s willingness to continue the fight against Hamas. “Surrender or death,” he was quoted by The Times of Israel. “There is no third option.”
Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, are trying to broker a ceasefire before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins around March 10, amid fears that flare-ups could occur during the fasting month.
The The United Nations has warned that more than 570,000 Gazans are facing “catastrophic levels of deprivation and famine” and that northern Gaza is of particular concern.
South Africa on Wednesday asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to issue emergency orders to Israel to end what it called the “genocidal starvation” of the Palestinian people, part of a case brought by South Africa in December filed accusing Israel of genocide against the Palestinians. in Gaza. Israel has categorically denied the accusation.
It is unclear where the Biden administration plans to build its new floating port or pier off the coast of Gaza, although the Army Corps of Engineers has long experience in rapidly building floating facilities to accommodate U.S. military operations. Based on the description provided by White House and military officials, this ship would be built from American ships and then moved close to shore.
One of the main military units involved in the construction will be the 7th Army Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary)from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, near Norfolk, according to U.S. Defense Department officials.
The ships, large, bulky vessels, will need armed escorts, especially if they come within range of the Gaza coast, officials said. So the Department of Defense is working to ensure their protection while they build the pier. Assuring them that armed protection could last from weeks to a few months, the White House did not set a firm timeline for the construction effort.
While aid workers welcomed the US plan to deliver more goods by sea, they also warned that a maritime corridor would not be a substitute for opening more land routes for trucks.
“We support all means of getting supplies into Gaza – maritime, air drops – but the priority is road convoys,” said Jamie McGoldrick, the top UN aid official in Jerusalem, adding that it would take time to build up the maritime passage infrastructure to put. .
Reporting was contributed by Erik Schmitt, Adam Sella, Aaron Bokserman, Matthew Mpoke Bigg And Victoria Kim.