Facing warnings that the war-torn 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 Sea to deliver food and other aid to desperate civilians in the enclave. .
US officials outlined the plan, which would make the United States more directly involved in aid, hours before President Biden is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address on Thursday night. Details of what they described as a floating jetty off Gaza will 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 connected by some sort of temporary causeway.
Briefing reporters, officials said it could take more than 30 to 60 days to take effect and involve hundreds or thousands of US troops on ships near the coast, in line with Mr Biden’s order to have no US troops on the ground in of Gaza. the conflict rages. The port will be built in collaboration with other countries in the region, officials said.
US officials said they had “worked closely” with the Israelis as they developed the port initiative, but did not specify whether Israel would provide direct aid or support for its construction or operation.
Shani Sasson, a 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, the aid provided by the United Arab Emirates would be sent to Cyprus, where it would eventually be inspected and then transported by ship to shores of Gaza.
The new facility could provide another way to transport aid trucks to the region. But it would not solve a central problem of distributing aid inside Gaza, while heavy fighting and Israeli shelling continue in the south, and as lawlessness in the north has worsened so much that aid groups have suspended operations there.
Until now, the United States has been pressing Israel to allow more aid into Gaza through two border crossings and recently joined France and Jordan in airdropping aid from planes, including 38,000 meals on Thursday.
The number of trucks entering Gaza with food and other aid increased in early March compared with February, according to United Nations figures. But the flow is still much lower than it was before the conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
The new project gives Mr. Biden a concrete agenda to highlight at a time when he is under heavy criticism for not reining in Israel’s attacks and for moving too slowly to address the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza.
And while U.S. officials have engaged in extensive, multinational talks seeking a temporary ceasefire, hopes for an imminent truce after five months of war dimmed further Thursday when Hamas negotiators walked out of talks in Cairo without progress.
International mediators have tried to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas that would free some hostages in Gaza and Palestinians held 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 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 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 sprawling makeshift tent camps after fleeing the Israelis bombing in other parts of Gaza. Mr Netanyahu acknowledged he was facing mounting international pressure as Gaza health officials said the death toll in the region had exceeded 30,000.
“Just when international pressure is mounting we must close ranks among ourselves,” Mr Netanyahu said in a speech on Thursday. “We must stand together against efforts to stop the war.”
He added that Rafah was the “last bastion of Hamas”.
“Anyone who tells us not to attempt Rafah is telling us to lose the war — and that’s not going to happen,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also signaled Israel’s willingness to continue fighting Hamas on Thursday. “Surrender or death,” he reportedly told the Times of Israel. “There is no third option.”
Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, are trying to secure a ceasefire before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins around March 10, out of concern that there could be flare-ups during the fasting month.
The United Nations has warned that more than 570,000 Gazans are facing “catastrophic levels of deprivation and hunger” 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 stop what it called “genocidal starvation” of the Palestinian people, part of a case South Africa filed in December accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians. in Gaza. Israel has categorically denied the accusation.
It is unclear where the Biden administration plans to build the new floating port or jetty off Gaza, although the Army Corps of Engineers has long experience in rapidly building floating facilities to accommodate US military operations. Based on the description provided by the White House and military officials, it would be built by US ships and then moved near the coast.
One of the main military units involved in the construction will be the Army’s 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., near Norfolk, according to U.S. Defense Department officials.
The ships, which are large, timber-carrying vessels, will need an armed escort, particularly as they come within range of the Gaza coast, the officials said, so the Defense Ministry is working to ensure their protection as it builds the jetty. Assuring them that armed protection could take weeks to a few months, the White House did not set a firm timetable for the construction effort.
While aid workers welcomed the US plan to deliver more supplies by sea, they also warned that a sea corridor would not replace opening more land routes for trucks.
“We are supporting all means of transporting supplies into Gaza – by sea, by air – but the priority is road convoys,” said Jamie McGoldrick, the top UN aid official in Jerusalem, adding that it would take time to build the infrastructure for the sea crossing. . .
The report was made by Eric Schmidt, Adam Sella, Aaron Boxerman, Matthew Boke Big and Victoria Kim.
