Biden will announce plans for a temporary aid port as talks stall
President Joe Biden will announce Thursday that the U.S. military will set up a temporary port off Gaza, senior administration officials said, acting amid an international push to create a sea route for food and other aid as U.N. and U.S. officials warn of famine among Palestinian civilians trapped by the Israel-Hamas war.
The announcement signals further deepening U.S. involvement in the war and the escalating tensions and fighting in the region. It also shows the Biden administration resorting to an unusual workaround to get help to Gaza's 2.3 million people, as it deals with restrictions that U.S. ally Israel has placed on overland aid deliveries, and with growing criticism of the administration's own handling of the conflict.
Meanwhile, hopes for reaching a cease-fire before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts in the coming days, appeared to have stalled. Hamas said Thursday its delegation had left Cairo, where talks were being held. The outline for the cease-fire would have including a wide infusion of aid into Gaza.
A widening humanitarian crisis across Gaza during five months of war and tight Israeli control of aid trucks has left virtually the entire population desperately short of food, the U.N. says. Medical workers in northern Gaza this past week reported 15 children dead of starvation there, with six other children on the verge. In a meeting pressing Israel Ambassador Michael Herzog to provide access and security for more aid trucks, the U.S. international development director, Samantha Power, warned that blockaded Gaza “faced a real risk of famine,” her office said Thursday.
Israel accuses Hamas of commandeering some aid deliveries.
The U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview Biden's announcement before his State of the Union speech, said the planned operation will not require American troops on the ground to build the pier that is intended to allow more shipments of food, medicine and other essential items from a port in the Mediterranean island country of Cyprus. They gave few other immediate details, including how many U.S. troops would take part.
The U.S. officials said it would likely take weeks before the pier was operational.
One of the options under consideration is for the military to provide a floating pier called a JLOTS, or Joint Logistics-Over-theShore, another U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss the options before a decision has been made. The large floating pier allows supplies to be delivered without having a fixed port in place, alleviating the need to have troops on a dock on shore. Ships can sail to the pier, which is secured by anchors, and dock there.
Defense Department spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement Thursday that U.S. officials and international partners were looking at options, including using commercial companies and contractors to aid in the delivery.