US President Joe Biden will announce a plan to create a new port in Gaza to increase humanitarian aid deliveries to the war-torn enclave, senior US officials told reporters.
Officials said Biden will make the announcement Thursday night during his State of the Union address, an annual address given to members of the U.S. Congress.
Under the plan, the US military would establish the dock off the coast of Gaza, but US troops would not be on the ground, the officials said.
They did not provide more information about the logistics of the plan, but one official said the United States has “unique capabilities” and can do things “simply on the high seas.”
A United Nations spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said his organization welcomed the announcement in a press release.
“Any way to get more aid to Gaza, whether by sea or by air, is obviously good,” Dujarric told reporters. “We need more entry points and we need a greater volume of aid to arrive by land.”
However, he stressed that the international community must focus on large-scale food deliveries by land to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.
An unnamed Israeli official, speaking to the Reuters news agency, similarly said that Israel “fully supports” the construction of a “temporary dock” in Gaza.
The announcement came as President Biden continues to face outrage over his administration's political and material support for Israel in the war in Gaza.
The Biden administration has refused to call for a complete ceasefire and has continued to supply weapons to Israel for its war.
Israel's bombing and ground operations have killed at least 30,800 Palestinians since October 7, when the Palestinian group Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that killed at least 1,139 people.
However, amid growing political pressure, the administration has changed its tone slightly in recent weeks.
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris called for the first time for a temporary “ceasefire,” although she was only referring to a pause in fighting while Hamas and Israel negotiated a hostage exchange.
Over the weekend, the United States began airdropping aid to Gaza, where Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters Wednesday that “children are dying of hunger.”
The UN has said a state of famine in Gaza is “almost inevitable” and could be declared as early as next week. McGoldrick said that while air and naval drops help distribute aid, an increase in reliable ground deliveries is more urgently needed.
Aid groups have accused Israeli forces of restricting ground shipments, both into and within Gaza. But Israel has denied it is hindering relief efforts.
'Destroying the food system'
In a post on social media platform Israel's deliberate policy. [and] persistent blockade of aid to Gaza.”
Hours earlier, Michael Fakhri, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, also warned that Israel's actions go beyond short-term impediments and represent a broader assault on Gaza's stability.
“Israel is not only denying and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. “Israel is destroying the food system in Gaza,” she said in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council.
Fakhri called it a “famine campaign.”
For their part, senior U.S. officials said the new port “will provide capacity for hundreds of additional trucks of assistance each day.”
One official added that “significant capacity will take several weeks to plan and execute.” The transport of supplies will also involve the establishment of a maritime corridor from Cyprus.
The officials said Israel had been informed about the plan and that the two countries were working together on security requirements.
They added that the United States was also coordinating with “partners and allies,” including the United Nations and aid organizations.
