During his State of the Union address, Biden announced steps to establish a port in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
This initiative was reported by CNN and teased before the speech on Thursday by a senior administration official who said it prior to the POTUS’s biggest speech of the year.
“Tonight in the speech, the President will announce that he’s directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a port in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water medicine, and temporary shelters,” a senior administration official said Thursday.
CNN reported the port will essentially include a temporary pier “will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day.” It’s interesting as the efforts will be coordinated mainly with Israel, the United Nations, and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. The initial aid shipments will come from Cyprus.
What is not immediately apparent is when the port will be up and running. The administration said, “This new significant capability will take several weeks to plan and execute. The forces required to complete this mission are either already in the region or will begin to move there soon,” said a second official.
It’s important to note that Israel has imposed major restrictions on what aid can enter the Gaza Strip and has drained or forbade essential supplies that are desperately needed by displaced civilians in Gaza. Many are facing starvation, including children, who make up half of the population in Gaza.
US officials still believe that delivering aid via land is “the most efficient, cost-effective way to get assistance in,” Biden’s State of the Union announcement expressed the urgency of the overall situation in Gaza..
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